Bridging continents; hantaviruses of Europe and Asia Minor.

Abstract

Members of the genus hantavirus, family Bunyaviridae, are the causative agents of Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome (HFRS) on the Eurasian continent and Hantavirus Cardiopulmonary Syndrome (HCPS) on the American continent. Rodents -and as was recently discovered also insectivoresact as carriers for the so far discovered hantaviral serotypes. All known hantavirus carriers from the European sub-continent are also present in Turkey. Therefore the possibility exists that in the future more hantavirus serotypes will be detected in Turkey. On the European subcontinent, HFRS is an endemic zoonosis that affects tens of thousands of individuals. In the year 2009 Turkey experienced his first outbreak of hantavirus disease in the Black Sea region. The meteorological data from the region provide clues for this event as both the average temperature in JulyAugust-September and monthly average precipitation were significantly higher than in previous years. The years 2008 and 2009 were also mast years for the beech (Fagus sylvatica) in the Bartin province. These events (favorable climatic conditions and food abundance) probably led to an abundance of bank voles and other seed-eating rodents as witnessed by information provided by agricultural and forestry experts concerning an increase in rodent populations in 2008 and 2009 in the regions where the outbreak occurred. Here we provide an overview of the hantavirus problem in Europe and Turkey.