Suspected Hantavirus death in Kerala

A suspected case of Hantavirus, a viral infection transmitted by rodents, claimed a life in Kerala recently, officials said today.
Fortythree-year-old Madhu, a rubber tapping worker hailing from Nedumangadu near here who died on January 14, was detected with the airborne infection in the preliminary laboratory tests.
However, a senior scientist of Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology (RGCB) here, where the deceased's blood samples were examined, said, the infection could be confirmed only after gene sequencing and further analysis.
"His blood sample was IgM positive for hanta. This is a probable case of hantavirus infection. But, we can confirm this only after PCR testing and gene sequencing," R Radhakrishnan, Head of Laboratory Medicines and Molecular Diagnosis, RGCB, told PTI.

Madhu's blood sample was one among around 1000 samples referred to the RGCB from the government Medical College here, where he was admitted with fever and body pain a few weeks ago. The samples were sent to test for 'scrub typhus', a kind of bacterial infection transmitted to humans from rats.
Of them, two samples--one Madhu's and other of a woman--were found positive for hanta during the preliminary analysis, he said.

"The clinical signs of hatavirus and scrub typhus are likely to overlap. The renal failure of the patients forced us to test the possibility of hanta. The gene sequencing may take two more weeks time," he said.

Hantavirus, which spreads from the saliva, urine and excreta of rodents, can cause hemorrhagic fever, pulmonary syndrome and kidney failure.
"There is no particular medicine for this viral infection. Death risk is high among very young and very old patients," the scientist said adding high fever and severe body pain are the major symptoms of the disease.