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. 1997 Sep;57(3):274-82.
doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.1997.57.274.

An outbreak of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome in western Paraguay

R J Williams  1 , R T Bryan, J N Mills, R E Palma, I Vera, F De Velasquez, E Baez, W E Schmidt, R E Figueroa, C J Peters, S R Zaki, A S Khan, T G Ksiazek
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An outbreak of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome in western Paraguay

R J Williams et al. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 1997 Sep.

Abstract

During an investigation of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) in Paraguay in 1995, sera from persons with HPS-like illness, houshold contacts of confirmed HPS case-patients, and a sample of the area residents were analyzed by ELISA for antibodies to Sin Nombre virus (SNV). Rodent serosurveys and analysis of precipitation records were also conducted. Twenty-three of 24 available probable cases were SNV antibody-positive, 17 of whom were ill between July 1995 and January 1996. Four (14.8%) of 27 case-contacts and 44 (12.8%) of 345 community residents were also seropositive. Calomys laucha (vesper mouse) was the most common rodent species captured and the most frequently SNV-seropositive. Rainfall in May 1995 was 10-fold greater than that seen in May over the preceding 11 years. This 17 case-cluster represents the largest documented outbreak since HPS was first recognized in 1993. Calomys laucha is the likely primary rodent reservoir for a SNV-like hantavirus in western Paraguay. Fluctuations in monthly precipitation rates may have contributed to increased risk for HPS in this region.

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