PREVALENCE OF ANTIBODIES TO HANTAVIRUS AMONG FAMILY AND HEALTH CARE WORKER CONTACTS OF PERSONS WITH HANTAVIRUS CARDIOPULMONARY SYNDROME: LACK OF EVIDENCE FOR NOSOCOMIAL TRANSMISSION OF ANDES VIRUS TO HEALTH CARE WORKERS IN CHILE

Abstract

Nosocomial transmission of Andes virus has been documented in Argentina, but has not yet been proven in Chile. We studied 215 contacts (106 family member contacts and 109 health care worker contacts) of 20 index cases of hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome (HCPS) in Chile. The seroprevalence of IgG antibodies against Andes virus was 1.9% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.34-6.3%) among the family members and 0.0% (95% CI = 0-3.2%) among the health care workers. Our data suggest that there is no evidence for nosocomial transmission of Andes virus in region IX of Chile.