A retired Professor of Surgery at Benue State University College of Health Sciences and the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, England, Dr Shima Gyoh has cautioned against contact with rodents, bats, and shrews as a first step in preventing Hantavirus.
Typically spread by rodents, the World Health Organisation (WHO) says the latest outbreak of Hantavirus is the first documented case of transmission between people. The outbreak occurred on board the cruise ship MV Hondius, operated by Oceanwide Expeditions, which began its journey on April 1 in Ushuaia, Argentina, and is expected to arrive in Spain’s Canary Islands on May 10.
“Keep ICU (Intensive Care Unit) functional and ensure strict professional discipline of staff in all hospitals,” Prof. Gyoh went further on preventive measures.
On Thursday, May 7, the WHO said five of eight suspected cases of hantavirus had been confirmed: Three people have died, including a 69-year-old Dutch woman, who had the virus.
According to Prof Gyoh, Hantavirus is a “terrible but rare virus that is associated with, unfortunately, rats again! Infected rodents and bats shed the virus all their lives! Like the Lassa fever virus, it is contained in their body fluids: blood, saliva, urine, and intestinal juice. It survives in their droppings, and dust swept up from a neglected barn might contain live virions. It is very dangerous to inhale such dust because it might precipitate the Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome.”
With an “incubation phase may be 2 to 4 weeks,” Prof. Gyoh says the initial phase of Hantavirus “starts like any other virus infection: flu, cough, fever, fatigue, muscular aches.”
He explained that “antibiotics are of no use,” in managing hantavirus, “although anti-viral drugs like Ribavirin might help.”
With a 1.0 per cent chance of survival, Prof. Gyoh noted that “the second or pulmonary phase (of Hantavirus) is heralded by shortness of breath and coughing up frothy fluids. It might proceed to the final phase of respiratory failure. At this stage, cardio-pulmonary resuscitation and mechanical ventilation with oxygen may be necessary.
“Immune sera and vaccines are not yet generally available.”
According to Prof. Gyoh, “the virus also causes other serious abnormalities in the body, interfering with clotting of blood, sometimes causing kidney failure.
“Surviving hantavirus pulmonary syndrome depends on early diagnosis and expert management of respiratory failure.”
