Author/Editor		Avšič-Županc, Tatjana
Title		Hantaviruses and hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome in the Balkans
Type		članek
Source		In: Saluzzo J-F, Dodet B, editors. Proceedings from meeting of the Emergence and control of rodent-borne viral disease; emerging diseases; 1998 Oct 28-31; Annecy, France. Paris: Elsevier SAS,
Publication year		1999
Volume		str. 93-8
Language		eng
Abstract		Hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) is endemic in the Balkan Peninsula, and epidemic outbreaks as well as sporadic cases have been recorded yearly since the disease was first recognized. The incidence of Balkan HFRS is modest, with approximately 100 cases reported in most years. Seroepidemiological investigations conducted in several Balkan countries revealed an overall seroprevalence of 4% in Greece, 1.6% in Croatia and I.7% in Slovenia. The spectrum of clinical features of the disease in this region ranges from mild illness typical of Puumala virus-like infections to a severe form with fulminant hemorrhagic fever and an overall mortality rate of 15%. Severe cases, usually attributable to Hantaan virus-like infections, have been identified from Slovenia in the north to Greece in the south. Epidemiological surveys indicate that Apodemus flavicollis and Clethrionomys glareolus were most often infected with hantaviruses in HFRS endemic areas in the Balkans. To date, seven hantavirus isolates recovered from patients' specimens or rodent tissues have been reported. Among them, only Dobrava virus (DOBV), originally isolated from a yellow-necked field mouse (A. flavicollis) in Slovenia, has been completely characterized. Genetic and antigenic characterization identified DOBV as a unique hantavirus. DOBV is the etiologic agent of the severe form of HFRS present in the Balkans.
Descriptors		HANTAVIRUS INFECTIONS HEMORRHAGIC FEVER WITH RENAL SYNDROME RODENTIA DISEASE VECTORS SLOVENIA CROATIA BULGARIA MACEDONIA (REPUBLIC) GREECE YUGOSLAVIA BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA