Flora Infeksiyon Hastalıkları ve Klinik Mikrobiyoloji Dergisi (Dec 2009)
Hantavirus Infections in Turkey
Abstract
Hantaviruses are a group of rodent-borne enveloped RNA viruses belonging to the genus Hantavirus, family Bunyaviridae. Hantaviruses cause two type of disease in people: hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) and Hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome (HCPS). Type and severity of the disease are closely related with virus type: Hantavirus species in America cause HCPS while the species in Europe and Asia cause HFRS. Hantaviruses are carried by some species of rodents and insectivores. Turkey has a great biological diversity with 66 species of rodents and 18 species of insectivores. Among the rodent species and insectivore species in the world that are known to carry Hantaviruses, Myodes glareolus, Microtus arvalis, Apodemus flavicollis, Apodemus agrarius, Rattus norvegicus and Sorex araneus are also present in Turkey. Depending on the current rodent and insectivore species in the country, presence of the following Hantavirus species; Puumala, Tula, Hantaan, Seoul Dobrova, Saaremaa and Seewis may be speculatively anticipated in Turkey. However, to date, only one rodent species in Turkey (Microtus vole) has been shown to be seropositive for Hantavirus (type Puumala) in a rodent study. Hantavirus infections in humans have been reported in a wide geographic area including some of the neighbors of Turkey in the world. However, presence of IgG type antibodies against Hantavirus in serum samples of some individuals in Turkey has been detected in two studies performed in 1997 and 2004; acute Hantavirus infection and Hantavirus outbreak in humans have been first reported in Turkey in February 2009. That Hantavirus outbreak emerged in two provinces (Zonguldak and Bartin) which located at north-western part of the county. In this review, the studies on Hantaviruses in humans and in rodent populations in Turkey are summarized.
