Description

Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS), also called hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome (HCPS), is a severe respiratory disease caused by hantaviruses. The main features of illness are microvascular leakage and acute respiratory distress syndrome. Symptoms occur anywhere from one to eight weeks after exposure to the virus and come in three distinct phases. First, there is an early phase with flu-like symptoms such as fever, muscle aches, headache, and shortness of breath, as well as low platelet count. Second, there is cardiopulmonary phase during which people experience elevated or irregular heart rate, cardiogenic shock, and pulmonary capillary leakage, which can lead to respiratory failure, low blood pressure, and buildup of fluid in the lungs and chest cavity. The final phase is recovery, which typically takes months, but difficulties with breathing can persist for up to two years. The disease has a case fatality rate of 30 to 60 percent. Death usually occurs suddenly during the cardiopulmonary phase.