New Virus In China: Man Dies Due To Hantavirus: Know Causes, Symptoms And Treatment Options

As the world is struggling to fight the coronavirus pandemic, a man in China died because of Hantavirus. The same was reported in China's state-owned newspaper Global Times. The publication tweeted that the man from Yunnan Province died while on his way back to Shandong Province for work on a bus on Monday. The country has tested 32 other people who were traveling in the bus with the man. China has tested 32 other people who were traveling in the bus with the man. According to the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, hantaviruses are a family of viruses which spread by rodents and can cause varied disease syndromes. The virus can spread to people through contact with urine, feces and saliva. It spreads less frequently by a bite from an infected host, the CDC said. This can cause hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) and haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS), the CDC website says.

Hantavirus: What you need to know

Infection with any hantavirus can produce hantavirus disease in people. Each of hantavirus serotype has a specific rodent host species. It can transmit to people through aerosolized virus which is shed in urine, feces, saliva and from the bite of an infected host.

Symptoms of hantavirus

• Fatigue
• Fever
• Muscle aches: Especially in thighs, hips, backs and sometimes shoulders
• Headaches
• Chills
• Dizziness
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Diarrhoea
• Abdominal pain

Hantavirus causes symptoms like fatigue and fever
Photo Credit: iStock

Symptoms may appear four to 10 days after the initial phase of illness. Initially, it may cause symptoms like cough and shortness of breath. Symptoms of haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) develop within one to two weeks after exposure to something infectious. In rare cases, the symptoms may take around eight weeks to develop.

Sometimes, an infected person may develop sudden and intense headaches, fever, chills, nausea, blurred vision, back and abdominal pain, along with flushing of face, inflammation and redness of eyes or a rash.

Recovery from hantavirus can take weeks or months. Death occurs in one to 15% of patients, according to CDC. Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome has a mortality rate of 38%.

Hantavirus treatment

As per the CDC, there is no specific treatment, cure or vaccine for hantavirus infection. A patient can do better if the infected person is recognised early on and provides medical care in an intensive care unit. As part of intensive care, patients are intubated and given oxygen therapy, which help them through the period of severe respiratory distress.

Disclaimer: This content including advice provides generic information only. It is in no way a substitute for qualified medical opinion. Always consult a specialist or your own doctor for more information. NDTV does not claim responsibility for this information.