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Other Bunyaviruses & Diseases

  • Severe Fever with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome Virus

  • Endemic in Asian countries such as China and Japan

  • First isolated virus in 2009 in China

  • Virus is part of the Phlebovirus genus

  • Emerging virus in Asia -- being researched extensively

  • Proposed mode of transmission is via ticks

  • California Encephalitis Virus

  • First discovered in Kern County, California, where a high percentage of individuals are seropositive

  • Virus is part of the Orthobunyavirus genus

  • The virus leads to an inflammation of the brain (encephalitis)

  • Transmitted via a mosquito vector

  • La Crosse Encephalitis Virus

  • 80-100 cases per year in the United States

  • Cases primarily occur between early spring and late fall

  • Maintained in a cycle of transmission between Aedes triseriatus mosquitoes and vertebrate hosts such as chipmunks and squirrels; humans represent a dead-end host.

  • Virus is part of the Orthobunyavirus genus

  • Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome

  • HPS is a severe respiratory disease in humans, often seen in the Americas; it is also caused by a hantavirus

  • Rodent-borne disease; no interpersonal transmisson 

  • Can be fatal, with a mortality rate of 38%

  • An example of an outbreak was in 1993 with the Sin Nombre Virus in the southwestern United States

  • Early symptoms include fatigue, fever, and muscle aches

  • Later symptoms include coughing and a shortness of breath

  • No treatment or cure, though patients are given oxygen therapy during respiratory distress.

Treatment & Prevention:

  • No human vaccination presently available for use in the U.S. against Bunyaviruses

  • Treatment primarily consists of fluid replenishment, maintaining body functions

  • Ribavirin has been used as an antiviral against certain Bunyaviruses

  • Preventive measures reducing exposure to vectors like mosquitoes or tickets (via DEET, avoiding endemic areas, educating about viral transmission, etc.) can help to reduce Bunyavirus infections

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