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Rapid increase in hantavirus infections reported
Hantaviruses are probably unknown to most Germans, and usually only a few hundred people in Germany suffer from infection every year. In some years, however, the spread of viruses is significantly increased, which is accompanied by a massive increase in the reported numbers of infections.
The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) has currently noted a significant increase in hantavirus infections compared to the previous year, with individual regions such as Baden-Württemberg being particularly hard hit. Compared with the previous year, the number of reported hantavirus infections there more than quintupled in the first quarter. All over Germany, according to the RKI, the number of registrations increased significantly.
The Rötelmaus applies from main carrier of the Hantavirus in Germany. With their proliferation, therefore, the number of infections also increases. (Image: Bernd Wolter / fotolia.com) Fluctuating virus activity of hantaviruses
While 2016 was a rather positive year with 282 reported hantavirus infections, in 2012, for example, a total of 2,824 infections were reported to the RKI. This makes the fluctuations in virus activity clear. In 2017, the experts of the State Health Office Baden-Württemberg expect again an increased prevalence of infections. In a special Hanta predictive model, 2,447 hantavirus infections were predicted for Baden-Württemberg alone.
Drastic increase in case numbers
In the first eleven weeks of 2017, the RKI already had more than 134 Hanta virus infections, while in the same period last year there were 38 infections. The State Health Office of Baden-Württemberg expects a significant increase in hantavirus activity in the coming weeks. 66 cases (as of the end of March) are already showing a drastic increase over the previous year (13 infections in the same period).
Causes of increased virus activity
The beech forests in many regions of Baden-Wuerttemberg are, according to the state health department, a "endemic areas for hantaviruses and have experienced several Hantavirus epidemics in recent years." Here live the main vectors of the virus, the red chickens (other mouse species serve the viruses as hosts) , These feed preferably on beechnuts. If there are many beechnuts in a year, then the mice can multiply extremely and hantavirus with them ... "The frequency of the disease varies from year to year and is probably dependent on the density and the prevalence of the local rodent population," explains the RKI.
Infections via excretions of rodents
Humans are usually infected by the excretions of animals, which can be inhaled, for example, with dust stirred up. The pathogens spread in this country cause flu-like symptoms with an infection, with high fever, headache, abdominal pain and back pain, reports the RKI. In the further course, a drop in blood pressure and finally kidney dysfunction until acute renal failure can be added, warn the experts. However, deadly events are rather rare in the European hantavirus species, in contrast to the virus variants that are widespread in North and South America.
Viruses in the environment relatively stable
Basically, hantaviruses occur worldwide, according to the RKI. The name is derived from the Korean border river Hantan, where during the Korean War in the early 1950s, more than 3,000 soldiers suffered from a severe haemorrhagic fever. In 1977, the virus was finally isolated for the first time. The natural hosts of the viruses are, above all, various rodents, whereby the viruses are eliminated by infected rodents via saliva, urine and faeces, the RKI continues. The viruses are relatively stable in the environment and therefore no direct contact with the rodents is necessary for the infection.
Hantaviruses distributed differently in Germany
According to the RKI, pathogenic hantaviruses in Germany are mainly transmitted to humans by red chickens and burnt mice. Other possible virus reservoirs are yellow-necked mice, field mice, terrestrial mice and the brown rat. A human-to-human transmission is unlikely to occur. The infections were recorded in all age groups, but men in middle age are affected more frequently than women. Also, the Hantavirus infections in Germany do not occur everywhere the same frequency, reports the RKI. The areas in which there is an increased risk of becoming infected with hantaviruses include, according to the RKI "the Swabian Alb, the Osnabrück region, Lower Franconia, the Odenwald, Upper Swabia, the Franconian Alb, the Bavarian Forest, East Hesse and West Thuringia. "(Fp)