Hantavirus Diseases: a Review of Epidemiological Situation and Epidemiological Risks in the Regions of the World

Abstract

The purpose of this review is to characterize the current epidemiological and epizootiological situation in natural foci of hantavirus diseases in different regions of the world, and to analyze the literature data available. Currently, hantavirus diseases are a very urgent threat to the sanitary and epidemiological well-being of the population around the world, which can cause serious complications of the epidemiological situation. About 200 thousand cases of the disease are registered every year around the world, while the intensity and dynamics of the incidence varies significantly in different regions of the world. While in China – the country with the largest annual number of cases worldwide – the overall dynamics of the incidence has a downward trend, which is apparently due to the widespread use of specific disease prevention tools; the number of cases in European countries, on the contrary, shows a clear increase. In the Russian Federation, hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) is currently the most common natural-focal disease of viral etiology. Data on the prevalence of hantavirus infection in the regions of South-East Asia and the African continent require further investigation, but it is quite obvious that hantavirus infection is a very underestimated public health issue in these regions, and its scale, due to the wide spread of carriers, may be much more considerable than is currently known.