Hantavirus: explanations and recommendations to prevent it

Eduardo Lpez, Head of the Hospital Medicine Department Ricardo Gutirrez, explained some issues related to the epidemic of hantavirus this is developing in some localities. In dialogue with the Uncompromising, the doctor discussed the outbreak in Chubut province and insisted on trying to detect the symptoms in time.

The Ministry of Health reported on Wednesday three new cases of hantavirus deaths in the province of Chubut, where there were already nine fatal and 24 confirmed cases. The infectologist explained that there are different types of hantavirus depending on the geographical location. The one that predominates in the south is Hantavirus Andes, although they all have a reservoir for different types of rodents that kill the virus through urine, feces and saliva.

Explained to L & # 39; s uncompromisingThis virus "spreads" and spreads in the environment in places that remain closed, such as warehouses or abandoned houses. In this way, it can be infected by breathing airborne particles or contact elements contaminated by the presence of rodents. There are also "rare" cases of transmission between people through close contacts "as has been demonstrated in Argentina and Chile," said the doctor.

Once acquired, the virus can generate a respiratory disease with an incubation period of one to three weeks, which is manifested by a feverish image and which, in the most severe cases, leads to severe pulmonary involvement. "This hantavirus syndrome sometimes requires intensive treatment and, in severe cases, mortality reaches 30% of cases, there is no antiviral treatment, but the additional treatment and early diagnosis" explained the doctor.

"If we want to penetrate into closed places, left long, especially in peri-urban or semi-rural areas, we must first open the doors of these sheds, ventilate them, let the light in." sun, do not sweep them and do not touch the utensils, if you do not use a mask and gloves, and you wash your hands often, "he recommends.

In Epuyn, in the city of Chubut, health quarantine was declared due to the epidemic raging in the region. Lopez explained that in case of quarantine, the logic is to try to block the number of cases. "These people should be isolated so as not to infect others, use masks to control or treat them, wash their hands frequently and detect cases that seem to treat them early."

The measures to be taken also depend on the characteristics of the place. In this sense, the specialist explained that hantavirus in general does not occur in urban populations, but rather in the areas where these mice circulate, such as semi-rural areas or areas with moderate population. "That these cases are generated in the South does not mean that we will have hantavirus in the province of Buenos Aires as an epidemic or in the federal capital," he says.

Finally, Dr. Lopez said that over time, most patients recovered and only 30% of cases achieved mortality, and insisted on trying to detect symptoms in time. "The problem is that if you detect it slowly and do not diagnose and believe that it's a viral picture, there may be a disaster, one that causes respiratory distress with cardiopulmonary insufficiency, "he concluded.