Panic in Europe: Hantavirus also detected in Ukraine

“This virus has been known for decades. The specific feature of hantavirus is that it is not a single specific strain, but a large family of viruses that exist in nature and are carried by wild rodents,” explained infectious disease specialist Viktoriia Bondar.

Hantavirus belongs to zoonotic diseases — infections transmitted from animals to humans. Variants of the virus differ around the world; some forms cause no symptoms, while others pose a serious threat to life.

The doctor noted that the rare Andes strain is found mainly in South America and that human-to-human transmission is generally not characteristic of hantaviruses.

In the first patient in Khmelnytskyi, acute hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome was diagnosed, while the second patient showed liver damage, rash, and fever. Both cases were laboratory-confirmed.