Serological evidence of hantavirus in humans and rodents in Barbados.

Abstract

Hantavirus (HV) infections were brought into the attention of western clinicians during the Korean War in 1951±1953, but it was not until 1978 that Lee and colleagues isolated the etiologic agent Hantaan virus (the prototype of the genus Hantavirus family Bunyaviridae) [1]. The natural reservoirs of HV are several rodent species (e.g. Apodemus, Rattus, Peromyscus), which can transmit the virus to humans and have a worldwide distribution [2]. Old World HVs may cause mild febrile illness (Puumala-like viruses), or moderate to severe hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) (Seoul-like or Hantaanand Dobrava-like viruses, respectively) [3]. New World HVs including Sin Nombre and Andes viruses are responsible for Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) [3]. In Europe and Asia HVs are related to the HFRS syndrome, whereas in the Americas the majority of HVs belong to the HPS related viruses [3]. The clinical symptoms of leptospirosis and dengue virus infections are comparable with the signs and symptoms of HFRS related HVs. Recently, the presence of HV infections among patients suspected of dengue fever in Indonesia was demonstrated [4]. In this study, we provide the first serological evidence of HV infections in humans and rodents in Barbados.