The ecological dynamics of hantavirus diseases: From environmental variability to disease prevention largely based on data from China

Abstract

Hantaviruses can cause hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) in the Americas and hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) in Eurasia. In recent decades, repeated outbreaks of hantavirus disease have led to public concern and have created a global public health burden. Hantavirus spillover from natural hosts into human populations could be considered an ecological process, in which environmental forces, behavioral determinants of exposure, and dynamics at the human–animal interface affect human susceptibility and the epidemiology of the disease. In this review, we summarize the progress made in understanding hantavirus epidemiology and rodent reservoir population biology. We mainly focus on three species of rodent hosts with longitudinal studies of sufficient scale: the striped field mouse ( Apodemus agrarius , the main reservoir host for Hantaan virus [HTNV], which causes HFRS) in Asia, the deer mouse ( Peromyscus maniculatus , the main reservoir host for Sin Nombre virus [SNV], which causes HPS) in North America, and the bank vole ( Myodes glareolus , the main reservoir host for Puumala virus [PUUV], which causes HFRS) in Europe. Moreover, we discuss the influence of ecological factors on human hantavirus disease outbreaks and provide an overview of research perspectives.

Exosomal miR‐145‐5p derived from orthohantavirus‐infected endothelial cells inhibits HTNV infection

“…2,3 China has always been severe epidemic region since 1957, among which Hantaan virus (HTNV) and Seoul virus (SEOV) are main etiologic agents of HFRS in China. 4 Human vascular endothelial cells (HUVECs) are the main target cells of hantaviruses and not considered causing direct cytopathic. 5 Thus, the control of viral infection and extent of blood vessel damage (such as cell permeability and plasma extravasation) hinge on the complicated interaction between virus replication and host immune response, of which how hantavirus-infected endothelial cells interact with other uninfected cells and host immune system is attracting great attentions.…”

Vaccines and Therapeutics Against Hantaviruses

“…In 2004, the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (China CDC) established the National Notifiable Disease Surveillance System (NNDSS) online, and HFRS cases of the whole country were reported daily through this system (Zhang et al, 2014). From 2006 to 2012, a total of 77,558 cases and 866 deaths were reported with the average annual incidence rate of 0.83 per 100,000, mortality rate of 0.01 per 100,000 and case fatality rate of 1.13% (Zhang et al, 2014), and its main causative pathogens are HTNV and SEOV (Tian and Stenseth, 2019). So far, HFRS cases have been reported in 30 out of 32 provinces in China (excluding Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan) (Zhang et al, 2014).…”

“…Although there have been substantial vaccines, there is no licensed vaccine against hantavirus infection that can be widely used. Despite inactivated hantavirus vaccines being licensed for human use in China and Korea, no such vaccine has been approved in the US or Europe (Tian and Stenseth, 2019). Current clinical studies of inactivated hantavirus vaccine in China or Korea and clinical trials of DNA vaccines in the US are summarized in Table 1.…”

“…In recent years, the repeated outbreak of hantavirus disease has caused a serious threat to human health. The spread of hantavirus from natural hosts to humans is a natural ecological process; however, the outbreak of hantavirus is driven by striped field mouse population cycle dynamics and seasonal climate change (Tian and Stenseth, 2019).…”

SARFIMA model prediction for infectious diseases: application to hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome and comparing with SARIMA

“…There may be as many as 150,000 cases each year [15]. Moreover, the number of countries reporting human cases of HFRS is still on the rise [16]. Weifang city, which is located in northeastern China, is one of the most seriously affected areas since the first case of HFRS was reported in 1974.…”