Reported Cases of Hantavirus Disease

Hantavirus Infection in the United States

Hantavirus disease surveillance in the United States began in 1993 during an outbreak of severe respiratory illness in the Four Corners region – the area where Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah meet. Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) became a nationally notifiable disease in 1995 and is now reported through the Nationally Notifiable Disease Surveillance System (NNDSS) when fever is present in a patient with laboratory-confirmed evidence of hantavirus infection.

In 2014, the Council of State & Territorial Epidemiologists expanded the national reporting of laboratory-confirmed hantavirus infections to include HPS and non-pulmonary hantavirus infection, an illness with non-specific viral symptoms, such as fever, chills, headache, fatigue, but no cardio-pulmonary symptoms. Reporting of non-pulmonary hantavirus cases began in 2015.

Reported Cases of Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome in the United States

As of the end of 2021*, 850 cases of hantavirus disease were reported in the United States since surveillance began in 1993. These were all laboratory-confirmed cases and included HPS and non-pulmonary hantavirus infection.

The map below shows the distribution by state of hantavirus cases in the United States from 1993 through 2021.

Data is reported by state only. County-level data for hantavirus cannot be provided to protect the identities of the people who contracted hantavirus. Contact your local or state health department for information about hantavirus disease cases in your area.

An Interactive Map, Table, and Charts of US Hantavirus Disease Cases Based on Data Reported to CDC’s Viral Special Pathogens Branch and Collected by the NNDSS

* Due to the case review and confirmation process, annual hantavirus case information is reported in the spring of the following year. Reporting of annual case information is delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hantavirus Disease Characteristics in the United States

The following table is based on the national surveillance data reported to CDC’s Viral Special Pathogens Branch and collected by the NNDSS.

Table 1. Hantavirus Disease** Characteristics in the United States

Characteristic

Characteristic

Characteristic

Number/Percentage

Number/Percentage

Number/Percentage

Cases of hantavirus infection, as of December 2020

Characteristic

Cases of hantavirus infection, as of December 2020

850 cases

Number/Percentage

850 cases

HPS cases

Characteristic

HPS cases

821 cases

Number/Percentage

821 cases

Non-pulmonary hantavirus infection1

Characteristic

Non-pulmonary hantavirus infection1

29 cases

Number/Percentage

29 cases

Sex of confirmed case patients

Characteristic

Sex of confirmed case patients

62% Male

38% Female

Number/Percentage

62% Male

38% Female

Race of confirmed case patients

Characteristic

Race of confirmed case patients

74% White

17% American Indian/Alaska Native

1% Black or African American

1% Asian

<1% Native Hawaiian/other Pacific Islander

6% Unknown

Number/Percentage

74% White

17% American Indian/Alaska Native

1% Black or African American

1% Asian

<1% Native Hawaiian/other Pacific Islander

6% Unknown

Ethnicity of confirmed case patients

Characteristic

Ethnicity of confirmed case patients

15% Hispanic/Latino

64% Not Hispanic/Latino

21% Unknown

Number/Percentage

15% Hispanic/Latino

64% Not Hispanic/Latino

21% Unknown

Median age of confirmed case patients

Characteristic

Median age of confirmed case patients

38 years (range 5 to 88 years)

Number/Percentage

38 years (range 5 to 88 years)

Mean age of confirmed case patients

Characteristic

Mean age of confirmed case patients

39 years (range 5 to 88 years)

Number/Percentage

39 years (range 5 to 88 years)

Cases of hantavirus infection resulting in death

Characteristic

Cases of hantavirus infection resulting in death

35%

Number/Percentage

35%

Cases of hantavirus infection occurring west of the Mississippi River

Characteristic

Cases of hantavirus infection occurring west of the Mississippi River

94%

Number/Percentage

94%

** Hantavirus disease includes HPS and non-pulmonary hantavirus infection

1Prior to changing the case definition in 2015, data was not systematically collected and reported for non-pulmonary hantavirus infection.