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Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (Hantavirus Disease) (HPS)

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2010 Case Definition

CSTE Position Statement Number: 09-ID-17

Clinical description

Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS), commonly referred to as hantavirus disease, is a febrile illness characterized by bilateral interstitial pulmonary infiltrates and respiratory compromise usually requiring supplemental oxygen and clinically resembling acute respiratory disease syndrome (ARDS). The typical prodrome consists of fever, chills, myalgia, headache, and gastrointestinal symptoms. Typical clinical laboratory findings include hemoconcentration, left shift in the white blood cell count, neutrophilic leukocytosis, thrombocytopenia, and circulating immunoblasts.

Clinical case definition

An illness characterized by one or more of the following clinical features:

A febrile illness (i.e., temperature greater than 101.0° F [greater than 38.3° C]) corroborated by bilateral diffuse interstitial edema or a clinical diagnosis of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) or radiographic evidence of noncardiogenic pulmonary edema, or unexplained respiratory illness resulting in death, and occurring in a previously healthy person
An unexplained respiratory illness resulting in death, with an autopsy examination demonstrating noncardiogenic pulmonary edema without an identifiable cause

Laboratory criteria for diagnosis

Detection of hantavirus-specific immunoglobulin M or rising titers of hantavirus-specific immunoglobulin G, or
Detection of hantavirus-specific ribonucleic acid sequence by polymerase chain reaction in clinical specimens, or
Detection of hantavirus antigen by immunohistochemistry

Case classification

Confirmed: a clinically compatible case that is laboratory confirmed

Comment

Laboratory testing should be performed or confirmed at a reference laboratory. Because the clinical illness is nonspecific and ARDS is common, a screening case definition can be used to determine which patients to test. In general, a predisposing medical condition (e.g., chronic pulmonary disease, malignancy, trauma, burn, and surgery) is a more likely cause of ARDS than HPS, and patients who have these underlying conditions and ARDS need not be tested for hantavirus.