Hantavirus in Baden-Württemberg is back

Hantavirus new cases in Baden-Württemberg are declining

07/09/2012

The hantavirus epidemic in Baden-Württemberg is slowing down slowly. While between the end of April and mid-May weekly up to 134 new cases were registered, the authorities would take no more than 20 cases per week, it was said from the regional council of Stuttgart. Almost two-thirds of the patients had to be hospitalized.

1,644 new cases of hantavirus in Baden-Württemberg
The number of new hantavirus cases is declining. „Weekly new cases are still significantly higher than in most previous years. They go back to the level of the previous record years 2007 and 2010“, informs the Regierungspräsidium Stuttgart on its website. More than 60 percent of all cases of hantavirus in Germany were registered in Baden-Württemberg. „Since the beginning of the year until 05.09.2012, 1,644 hantavirus diseases have been transmitted to the State Health Office of Baden-Württemberg - more than in any previous year.“ Even in the earlier record years of 2007 and 2010, only around 900 cases of illness were reported until the beginning of September.

As the regional council continues to report, there are large regional differences in disease numbers: „Most diseases occur along the Swabian Alb. Parts of Upper Swabia, the Rhine Valley and the southern Black Forest were less or hardly affected.“

65 percent of hantavirus new cases had to be treated in hospital
Especially male adults were affected by the infectious disease. Up to 65 percent had to be hospitalized in hospital. 63 percent of those affected suffered from impaired kidney function, a consequence of the disease.

Hantaviruses are distributed by red chickens. The pathogen is found in the feces, urine and saliva of the animals. If a person inhales a dust that contains pathogens, they can become infected. In 2012, the population of red chickens is particularly large due to the abundance of beechnuts last fall, the main food source of red chickens. This is why areas with many beech forests are particularly affected by hantavirus infections.

Normally, a Hantavirus infection with flu-like symptoms. After an incubation period of 12 to 21 days, very high fever, headache, abdominal pain, back pain and minor bleeding (petechiae) occur. In severe cases there may be decreased urinary excretion (oliguria) with „arterial hypertension“ which can lead to failure of one or both kidneys. Very rarely, pulmonary edema also occurs.

The hantavirus is named after a Korean river (Hanta river). The virus became known worldwide after thousands of UNO soldiers became infected with it during the Korean War in the 1950s. The virus is now distributed worldwide. (Ag)

Read on:
Hantavirus infections in Baden-Württemberg
Increase in hantavirus infections

Picture: Peter Friday