Hantavirus 101

Hello Chess.com. I'm @Iconic-Tsar or @TheChessInfinity, and today I'll be talking about the Hantavirus disease that's been going on nowadays.

SECTIONS

I. What is the Hantavirus?
II. How hantavirus spreads
III. Symptoms & diagnosis
IV. Prevention, safe cleaning practises and treatment
V. Q&A

SECTION I. WHAT IS THE HANTAVIRUS?

Hantavirus is a group of viruses carried mainly by rodents, such as mice, rats and voles, causing severe respiratory or kidney disease in humans.

Here are the two major types of hantavirus:

• Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS): A rare, severe and often fatal respiratory disease caused by the hantavirus, targeting the lungs. Mostly found in the Americas. A good example of this is the Sin Nombre virus.
• Haemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome (HFRS): A severe zoonotic disease also caused by the hantavirus, targeting the kidneys. Mostly found in Europe and Asia.

Mortality rate: 30% to 60% of HPS cases result in death, while for HFRS, it's <1% to 15%. However, the rare Andes strain, linked to a cruise ship outbreak, can have a mortality rate as high as 50%.

SECTION II. HOW HANTAVIRUS SPREADS

The most common route of infection is breathing in airborne virus particles. When dried urine, droppings or nesting materials are disturbed during cleaning or moving items, the virus becomes aerosolised. Cleaning, vacuuming, sweeping or working in dusty, enclosed spaces, such as cabins, barns or sheds with rodent infestations can also increase risk.

Furthermore, hantavirus can be transmitted via directly touching contaminated urine, dropping or nesting materials (ew) THEN touching the eyes, nose or mouth. Even though rare, being bitten or scratched by an infected rodent can cause infection. Eating food that has been contaminated by the saliva, urine or droppings of an infected rodent can also get you infected.

Person-to-person transmission can also be lethal. It can occur between household members, intimate partners or caregivers with someone showing symptoms. However, the transmission is rare and requires close or prolonged contact. Furthermore, it's limited to the Andes strain mostly found in Chile and Argentina.

SECTION III. SYMPTOMS & DIAGNOSIS

Early symptoms (Common to both HPS and HFRS):

• High fever (>38°C)
• Severe muscle aches (especially in the thigh, hip and back regions)
• Headaches and dizziness
• Abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea
• Chills

Later symptoms (for HPS):

4-10 days after initial symptoms, the disease progresses quickly. Key symptoms include:

• Coughing
• Shortness of breath
• Tightness in the chest due to fluid building up in the lungs (also known as pulmonary oedema)
• Rapid onset of low blood pressure and respiratory failure.

Later symptoms (for HFRS):

• Intense lower back pain
• Abdominal pain
• Blurred vision
• Acute kidney failure
• Low blood pressure
• Bleeding disorders

Physical signs include:

• Facial flushing
• Red eyes
• Petechiae

Diagnosis

Early diagnosis is challenging because initial symptoms resemble the flu or COVID-19. However, there are several key indicators for doctors, such as:

• Exposure to Rodents: History of cleaning rodent droppings, working in sheds/barns or living in rural areas with mouse infestations.
• Symptoms: Unexplained respiratory diseases (for HPS) or kidney failure (for HFRS) following a fever.

Furthermore, there are also laboratory and diagnostic tests used by doctors:

• ELISA Blood Test: Detects hantavirus-specific IgM antibodies (most common method).
• RT-PCR (Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction): Detects viral RNA in the blood.
• Chest X-Ray: Used in HPS cases to look for pulmonary oedema.
• Complete Blood Count (CBC): Shows low platelet count and high white blood cell count.

IV. PREVENTION, SAFE CLEANING AND TREATMENT

Prevention

The main goal of prevention is to avoid contact with rodents or their urine, droppings or nesting materials.

• Seal gaps, holes and cracks in homes, sheds or garages that are larger than 6 millimetres (the size of a pencil).
• Use steel wool, caulk or metal flashing instead of wood to seal gaps, as mice can chew through wood.
• Store all human and pet food in thick plastic, glass or metal containers with tight-fitting lids.
• Keep trash in tightly sealed bins and avoid leaving pet food/water bowls out overnight.
• Place snap traps inside homes to keep rodents away, as using glue traps or live traps will keep the rodent alive and shed the virus.

Safe cleaning practises

Kindly please do not sweep or vacuum dry rodent droppings, nests or dead rodents. I'm begging you. This will just aerosolise the virus, enabling its inhalation. Instead, you should do this:

• Open doors and windows of closed-up cabins, sheds and rooms for at least 30 minutes before entering to air out.
• Always wear vinyl, rubber or latex gloves when cleaning or handling potentially rodent-infested areas. But for heavily infested areas, then you might need a N95 respirator with you, even if it costs a few quids.
• Spray dead rodents, droppings or nests with a disinfectant solution until it's wet. (Please do NOT OOC this.)
• Before removing them, wash your gloves with soap and water or disinfectant.
• Place the first bag inside a second, sealed garbage bag before placing it in the trash.

Treatment and medical care

There is no specific cure, vaccine or treatment for hantavirus. However, early detection can improve survival rates significantly.

• Look for fever, fatigue, muscle aches (especially in the thigh/back regions), headaches, or dizziness.
• After 4-10 days of initial symptoms, look for coughing, shortness of breath and severe lung distress.
• If it has gotten really bad, the treatment might need to take place in an ICU. This includes breathing support to manage fluids in the lungs.

SECTION V. Q&A

Feel free to ask me anything you want!

If you have more questions, you can ask me either in this forum or in DMS. Thanks for viewing!

always bet on nothing

how did you have the time to write that much?

Impressive how you set this up!

(Even though I think that cruise ship outbreak is probably going to be the only major one that will actually happen.)