EMERGENCE OF HANTAVIRUS DISEASE IN THE USA AND EUROPE

Since the first isolation of hantavirus in 1976, these viruses and the diseases they cause have become recognized as a worldwide public health problem. Within the past decade, hantaviruses have emerged as an important cause of acute renal failure in many European countries, and, in 1993, an explosive outbreak of acute pulmonary disease with a high case fatality ratio was traced to a newly recognized hantavirus in southwestern USA. In nature, these zoonotic agents are maintained by rodents, with ecologic and environmental factors believed to play an important role in outbreaks.