1/2. hantavirus pulmonary syndrome. Outbreak of a new disease caused by a new virus.Only months after the first report of a brief prodromal illness followed by rapidly progressive noncardiogenic pulmonary edema and death, the causative agent was tentatively identified as a previously unknown hantavirus. Although hantaviral infections are well known in asia, none had ever been reported in the united states. A collaborative effort between local, state, regional, and federal authorities allowed rapid identification of a new set of clinical and laboratory findings, now known as the hantavirus pulmonary syndrome. Inclusion, exclusion, and confirmatory criteria have been established to help identify potential cases. However, tests for the infection are still experimental, so physicians should send samples to the Centers for disease Control and Prevention for testing in suspected cases. ribavirin (Virazole) may be beneficial early in the course of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, and supportive care is essential. Rodents, particularly the deer mouse in the Southwest, are the natural hosts for the hantaviruses. Prevention of this new syndrome centers on avoidance of contact with and inhalation of saliva, urine, and feces of infected rodents.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = physician (Clic here for more details about this article) |
2/2. hantavirus pulmonary syndrome. Report of the first three cases in Sao Paulo, brazil.The hantavirus pulmonary syndrome was first recognized in cases that occurred in the U.S. in 1993, which served as an alert not only for American physicians but also for physicians in other countries for the identification of the disease. In the city of Sao Paulo, brazil, 3 cases of the syndrome were recorded in 1993. The patients were young brothers residing in the Mata Atlantica (Atlantic Forest) region submitted to recent deforestation. Two of the patients died of acute respiratory insufficiency and the third recovered without sequelae. In the surviving patient the diagnosis was established by a laboratory criterion based on the detection of specific IgM and IgG class antibodies by indirect immunofluorescence. In the two patients who died, the diagnosis was confirmed by laboratory tests using immunoperoxidase technique for hantavirus in tissue, in histological lung and heart sections in one case, and by clinical and epidemiological data in the other.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 2keywords = physician (Clic here for more details about this article) |