''Hantaan orthohantavirus'' (HTNV) is an enveloped, single-stranded,

negative-sense In molecular biology and genetics, the sense of a nucleic acid molecule, particularly of a strand of DNA or RNA, refers to the nature of the roles of the strand and its complementarity (molecular biology), complement in specifying a sequence of am ...

RNA virus species of Old World ''

Orthohantavirus ''Orthohantavirus'' is a genus of single-stranded, enveloped, negative-sense RNA viruses in the family '' Hantaviridae'' within the order ''Bunyavirales''. Members of this genus may be called orthohantaviruses or simply hantaviruses. Orthohantav ...

''. It is the causative agent of Korean hemorrhagic fever in humans. It is named for the

Hantan River The Hantan River is a river in South Korea, flowing through Gangwon and Gyeonggi Provinces. It is a tributary of the Imjin River, which eventually joins the Han River and empties into the Yellow Sea. The Hantan River is a popular site for white- ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...

, and in turn lends the name to its genus ''Orthohantavirus'' and family ''

Hantaviridae ''Hantaviridae'' is a family of viruses in the order ''Bunyavirales''. It is named for the Hantan River area in South Korea where an early outbreak of one of its species was observed. Taxonomy * '' Actantavirinae'' ** '' Actinovirus'' * '' Aga ...

''.

Natural reservoir

'' Apodemus agrarius'', also known as striped field mouse, is the etiological vector of ''Hantaan orthohantavirus''.

Transmission

Transmission is believed to be through inhalation of

aerosolized Aerosolization is the process or act of converting some physical substance into the form of particles small and light enough to be carried on the air i.e. into an aerosol. Aerosolization refers to a process of intentionally oxidatively converting a ...

rodent urine and feces.

Morbidity and mortality

In hantavirus induced hemorrhagic fever, incubation time is between two and four weeks in humans before symptoms of infection present. Severity of symptoms depends on the

viral load Viral load, also known as viral burden, is a numerical expression of the quantity of virus in a given volume of fluid, including biological and environmental specimens. It is not to be confused with viral titre or viral titer, which depends on the ...

. Like Dobrava-Belgrade virus, Hantaan virus has a mortality rate of 10 to 12%.

History

During the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

(1951–1953), more than 3000 American and Korean troops fell ill with

kidney failure Kidney failure, also known as end-stage kidney disease, is a medical condition in which the kidneys can no longer adequately filter waste products from the blood, functioning at less than 15% of normal levels. Kidney failure is classified as eit ...

bleeding Bleeding, hemorrhage, haemorrhage or blood loss, is blood escaping from the circulatory system from damaged blood vessels. Bleeding can occur internally, or externally either through a natural opening such as the mouth, nose, ear, urethra, vag ...

, and

shock Shock may refer to: Common uses Collective noun *Shock, a historic commercial term for a group of 60, see English numerals#Special names * Stook, or shock of grain, stacked sheaves Healthcare * Shock (circulatory), circulatory medical emergen ...

. The cause remained unknown until 1976 when Karl M. Johnson an American tropical virologist and his colleagues, including Korean virologist,

Ho Wang Lee Ho Wang Lee (26 October 1928 – 5 July 2022) was a South Korean physician, epidemiologist, and virologist. He was the first person in the history of medicine to be the one chiefly responsible for all 3 of the following steps: (1) discovery of ...

(Lee Ho Wang), isolated Hantaan virus from the lungs of striped field mice.

References

External links