At the time when the world is fighting with corona virus other diseases like swine flu and bird flu have also started troubling a all countries and thousands of human dead due to these virus .
One such disease which is rearing its head in China, which is still battling corona virus, is hantavirus.
On Twitter,
that one man in the country had tested positive for hantavirus. According to the state media, the man, a resident of Yunnan Province, died on a bus while travelling to Shandong Province for work on Monday.
China’s Global Times
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that hantaviruses are a family of viruses which is transmitted mainly by rodents and can show varied disease syndrome in people. The name of hantavirus varies depending on the region. In America, it is known as “New World” hantaviruses, while in Europe and Asia, it is known as “Old World” hantaviruses.
CDC
What exactly is the hantavirus?
It can cause hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) and haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS).
The disease is not airborne and can only spread to people if they come in contact with urine, feces, and saliva of rodents and less frequently by a bite from an infected host.
Symptoms of hantaviruses
- Fever greater than 101◦F, chills, body aches, headaches.
- Nausea and vomiting and abdominal pain.
- New rash (faint red spots)
- A dry cough followed by rapid onset of breathing difficulty.
Though the symptoms are somewhat similar, from the reports,
it is clear that citizens need not fear the hantavirus like the coronavirus that is on rampage affecting four lakh people worldwide with a death toll of 16,500 at the time of this writing.
Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome: Early symptoms of HPS include fatigue, fever and muscle aches, especially in thighs, hips, back, and sometimes shoulders.
An infected person may also experience headaches, dizziness, chills, and abdominal problems.
In case of late symptoms, usually after four to 10 days, one may show coughing and shortness of breath. It can be fatal too in some cases.
Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome: In case of HFRS, symptoms develop within one to two weeks after coming in contact with the virus.
But in rare cases, it may take up to eight weeks to show symptoms. Initial symptoms include intense headaches, back and abdominal pain, fever, chills, nausea, and blurred vision.
On the other hand, late symptoms are low blood pressure, acute shock, vascular leakage, and acute kidney failure.
How it spread to others?
New Hantavirus also can transmit over the air and human to human which very danger
It is spread by human exposure to a rat or squirrel. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, ‘mice in and out of the house are at risk of Hutavirus infection.
Even if there is a healthy person and they come in contact with the virus, then there is a risk of getting infected.
Hantavirus can be contracted if someone touches their eyes, nose or mouth after touching rodent droppings, urine, or nesting materials.
Early symptoms of Hantavirus include fever, headache, muscle ache, abdominal pain, dizziness, chills and abdominal problems.
Hantavirus patients also have symptoms of nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea.
Late symptoms include lungs fill with fluid and shortness of breath.
