Author/Editor		Nuti, M; Agostini, M; Albini, E; Avšič-Županc, T; Kraigher, A
Title		Anticorpi contro il virus Hantaan in ex-militari italiani di stanza nei Blacani durante la 2. Guerra Mondiale
Translated title		Hantaan seropositivity in World War 2. Italian veterans who served in the balkans
Type		članek
Source		Ann Ig
Vol. and No.		, št. 4
Publication year		1992
Volume		str. 23-8
Language		ita
Abstract		Forty Italian veterans who were stationed for several months (5 to 30) in the Balkans, in Albania or Greece, during the World War II were studied. For the detection of IgG antibody to Hantaan virus we used an agglutination test (HANTAA - HDPA) and an IFA test using Hantaan, Puumala virus antigens and Yugoslavian strains Fojnica, Dobrava, Vranica. Seven (17.5 percent) of 40 veterans were positive to Hantaan virus by HDPA at a titer of 80 (4 cases) and 160 (3 cases). By IFA the positivity to Hantaan virus was lower (5/40=12.5 percent). This high prevalence can not be explained by age, professional activity, or exposure to wild rodents in Italy. In fact, most of these, once they returned to Italy, had sedentary work without activities that could be considered at risk. In healthy control residents from the same Italian regions and the same age groups, Hantaan antibody was lacking in coastal areas or present at low prevalence (3-4 percent) in hilly Appennine zones. The high values here recorded probably reflect the intense exposure to Hantaan virus during the military operation in the Balkans.
Descriptors		HANTAAN VIRUS HEMORRHAGIC FEVER WITH RENAL SYNDROME CASE-CONTROL STUDIES AGED ITALY AGGLUTINATION TESTS FLUORESCENT ANTIBODY TECHNIQUE IGG