As China takes a rest from the Coronavirus announcing that there has been a drastic drop of the virus in the country, another virus has been woken as a man dies on the bus on his way to work from Yunnan province to Shandong just on Monday. He was tested and it was concluded that he was infected with another virus called Hantavirus.
2020 has been packed with so many diseases in the past few months, India has been experiencing diseases like swine flu and bird flu.
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What is Hantavirus?
This disease is caused by rodents at home or in the bush, and according to the Centers for Disease Control, Hantavirus is a group of viruses that can cause different kinds of diseases in humans that come in contact with the infected rodent.
The disease is not airborne just like the COVID-19 as the only way people can contract or be infected with the virus is when they come in contact with the infected rodent urine, feces, and saliva. It is also known that if the host, i.e. the rodents (rats e.t.c) which happens to be the carrier of the virus because they are not affected by the virus if they should bite a person, they can be infected with the virus.
The virus causes what is called Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) which is a respiratory disease and Hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS).
What are the symptoms of the Hantavirus?
First of all, the HPS which is stated above cannot be transmitted from person to another but the HFRS can be transmitted from a person to another but the cases are very rare.
Symptoms of the HPS are;
- Fatigue
- Fever
- Muscle aches
- Headaches
- Dizziness
- Chills
- Abdominal problems
And if all the listed early symptoms and problems are not treated on time, it can lead to greater problems like;
- Coughing
- Shortness of breath
Which can be very dangerous and according to the Centers for Disease Control, the mortality rate is 38%.
Symptoms of HFRS are the same as the HPS but it can cause further problems if not treated on time;
- Low blood pressure
- Acute shock
- Vascular leakage
- Acute kidney failure
The good news is this disease cannot be spread from person to another and as for the HFRS, it is very rare, so let us try to stay away from any rodents we see and avoid places where you can find their feces and urine. We have a rodent population control but unfortunately, it is not available here in Nigeria.
