CDC Confirms Two Cases Of Hantavirus From Rats In Washington
Washington, DC, has turned into a home for rats that terrify the citizens. Furthermore, it creates a worrisome danger of viral transmission for the local population.
Following the publication of a study on Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, DC health authorities confirmed that the city had seen the first two known instances of hantavirus spillover. The virus thrives in the shadows of rats and other rodent species, but it may cause possibly fatal respiratory and hemorrhagic infections in humans.
Close interaction with rat urine or nest dust or inhalation of aerosolized virus nanoparticles from urine, excrement, or saliva are the most common ways in which humans get infected with the disease. There is also the chance that the virus may be transmitted by rat bites, however, this is less prevalent. Once a virus has infected a person, it nearly never spreads from one human to another.
It is lucky for DC residents that the strain of hantavirus that has been discovered in the area is one of the weaker varieties: a “Old World” hantavirus known as the Seoul virus. Hantaviruses from the Old World are responsible for a condition is known as hemorrhage fever-associated renal dysfunction. HFRS may present with symptoms similar to those of a general illness, such as fever, shivering, nausea, and migraine. However, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it may escalate to low blood pressure, severe shock, arterial leakage, and acute renal failure.
However, depending on whatever hantavirus you get, the intensity of HFRS may range from mild to severe, with mortality rates reaching up to 15%. It is one of the gentler strains, with a mortality rate of just approximately 1 percent when it comes to Seoul virus. The affected persons were able to recover as a result in both of the instances recorded by health authorities in the District of Columbia.
Tiesha loves to share her passion for everything that’s beautiful in this world. Apart from writing on her beauty blog and running her own beauty channel on Youtube, she also enjoys traveling and photography. Tiesha covers various stories on the website.
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