Abstract
Summary Hantaviruses have emerged as agents of significant morbidity and mortality in human beings. These pathogens are maintained in nature as not clinically apparent, persistent infections in rodent reservoirs, varying with each virus, and are shed via rodent feces, urine, and salivary excretions. Human exposure to hantaviruses principally occurs through the respiratory tract route and is focal and discontinuous, paralleling the distribution of virus in reservoir species and the likelihood of human-rodent interactions. Prior to 1993, hantaviruses were established etiologic agents of human febrile nephropathies and hematologic abnormalities on several continents, exclusive of North America. An episode of severe respiratory tract illness developed in association with a group of novel hantaviruses in the United States during 1993-1994, resulting in at least 98 confirmed cases of disease from 21 states and 51 deaths. Current evidence suggests that hantaviruses of zoonotic potential have long existed across widespread areas of the United States but have gone un-recognized.
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