Hantavirus strain reference
The eight strains responsible for almost all human hantavirus disease worldwide. Each strain has its own rodent reservoir, geography, and case-fatality profile.
New World hantaviruses (HPS)
Sin Nombre virus
Sin Nombre virus is the leading cause of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome in North America. Identified during the 1993 Four Corners outbreak, it remains the most common HPS-causing strain in the United States.
Andes virus
Andes virus is the only hantavirus with documented person-to-person transmission. Outbreaks in Argentina and Chile have included clusters traced to close human contact, making it of unique public-health concern.
Choclo virus
Choclo virus is the principal hantavirus circulating in Panama and parts of Central America. Many infections are mild or asymptomatic, but symptomatic disease can progress to HPS.
Laguna Negra virus
Laguna Negra virus drives HPS cases in the Gran Chaco region of South America. It is most often associated with rural exposures during seasonal rodent population blooms.
Old World hantaviruses (HFRS)
Seoul virus
Seoul virus is the only hantavirus with effectively global distribution, carried by brown rats that travel with human commerce. It causes a milder form of HFRS and has been implicated in outbreaks linked to pet rats.
Hantaan virus
Hantaan virus is the prototype of the genus and causes the most severe form of HFRS. It was identified after Korean War-era outbreaks among soldiers near the Hantan River.
Puumala virus
Puumala virus causes nephropathia epidemica, a mild form of HFRS endemic across northern and central Europe. Case rates rise with bank-vole population peaks driven by mast (beech/oak) seed years.
Dobrava-Belgrade virus
Dobrava-Belgrade virus causes the most severe European form of HFRS, particularly in the Balkans. It is closely related to Hantaan and shares a similar clinical profile of high renal and cardiovascular involvement.