What is hantavirus?
Hantavirus refers to viruses in the genus Orthohantavirus, family Hantaviridae, order Bunyavirales. The genus contains more than two dozen species, with roughly half known to cause disease in humans. The viruses are enveloped, single-stranded negative-sense RNA viruses with a tripartite genome (S, M, L segments).
Each hantavirus species is closely co-evolved with a specific rodent (or insectivore) reservoir host. Humans are accidental hosts. Transmission is overwhelmingly indirect — humans inhale aerosolised dust from rodent excreta in enclosed spaces — with one exception: Andes virus is the only hantavirus with documented person-to-person transmission, primarily in close household and healthcare settings.
Two human syndromes
Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS)
HPS is the New World disease form, caused by hantaviruses of the Americas: Sin Nombre (US, Canada, Mexico), Andes (Argentina, Chile, southern South America), Choclo (Panama), Laguna Negra (Paraguay, Bolivia, Brazil) and others. The syndrome begins with a non-specific febrile prodrome (3–8 days post-exposure) and progresses rapidly, typically by day 4–10, into a cardiopulmonary phase marked by non-cardiogenic pulmonary edema and shock. Sin Nombre case-fatality is around 36%; Andes is 25–40%.
Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome (HFRS)
HFRS is the Old World form, caused by hantaviruses of Europe and Asia:
Hantaan (Korea, China, Russian Far East),
Seoul (worldwide via brown rats),
Puumala (Northern and Central Europe), and
Dobrava-Belgrade (Balkans).
Severity ranges widely. Puumala (nephropathia epidemica) is mild —
< 0.5% case-fatality. Hantaan is severe with 5–15% case-fatality
and prominent renal involvement (lower-back pain, oliguria, hypotensive shock).
Reservoirs and ecology
Each hantavirus is associated with a specific rodent reservoir. Reservoir populations cycle with food availability — for instance, Puumala case rates rise in years following beech-mast or oak-mast events that boost bank-vole populations across Northern Europe. Climate-driven changes to rodent ecology have been increasingly cited in surveillance literature as a factor in shifting hantavirus geography.
Transmission settings most commonly include disturbance of dusty, enclosed rodent-occupied spaces: cabins, barns, sheds, woodpiles, grain stores. The risk is exposure to aerosolised excreta — not direct rodent contact.
History
The prototype virus, Hantaan, was isolated in 1976 by H.W. Lee and colleagues from a striped field mouse near the Hantan River in Korea, more than two decades after the syndrome's recognition during the Korean War. The family expanded with the discovery of Sin Nombre virus during the 1993 Four Corners HPS outbreak in the southwestern United States. Subsequent decades have added Andes, Choclo, Laguna Negra and many lineages now known to circulate worldwide.
How Hantaflow tracks hantavirus
Hantaflow ingests authoritative public-health surveillance feeds (CDC NNDSS, WHO Disease Outbreak News, ECDC CDTR, PAHO PLISA, UKHSA Dashboard, Public Health Scotland, RKI SurvStat, Santé publique France) and reputable news outlets via Google News and GDELT in 12+ languages. Every signal is linked to its source and timestamped. See methodology for how we de-duplicate, classify and verify items.
For per-strain detail, see the strain reference. For country-level coverage, see /countries. For symptoms, see /symptoms.
Disclaimer. The information on this page is a reference summary drawn from public-health sources (CDC, WHO, ECDC, peer-reviewed literature). It is not medical advice. Consult a healthcare professional for clinical concerns. Sources: see /sources.