Hanta virus claims first known victim in Turkey

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Source: http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/detaylar.do?load=detay&link=172596&bolum=100

Hanta virus claims first known victim in Turkey

The Health Ministry has discovered that a 46-year-old man who died in February in the northwestern district of Bartın was infected with the hanta virus, a virus carried by rodents that causes epidemic hemorrhagic fever and severe respiratory infections in humans, making him the first known victim of the virus in Turkey.

İlyas Bilgin, who was hospitalized with symptoms of fever, chills and nausea, died on Feb. 20 of ?multi-organ failure in connection to acute renal failure,? according to his doctors. The Health Ministry, however, recently announced that the hanta virus was found in Bilgin?s blood and was the cause of his death. Describing the virus in a statement made about Bilgin?s death, the Health Ministry said: ?Some rodents carry the virus, and it spreads through inhaling their droppings. There are two types of hanta virus infections. One, which causes lung failure, is widely seen in America; the other, which causes renal failure, is seen in Asia and Europe. The infection, which is known to be seen in southern Russia and the Balkans, has been discovered for the first time in our country.?

Bilgin?s wife, D?ne, noted that her husband developed a fever and nausea two weeks after a splinter pricked his finger while he was trying to cut down a tree in a forest, causing his finger to swell up. In the meantime, 12 people in Bartın and four in the city of Zonguldak have been hospitalized for possible hanta virus infection. Including Bilgin, the virus has been discovered in eight people in the region so far.

The disease associated with the hanta virus is called hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS), a term that is accepted by the World Health Organization (WHO). It was formerly called Korean hemorrhagic fever. The appearance of the virus causes flu-like symptoms in those infected. The disease spreads through the saliva, urine and droppings of deer mice, not through person-to-person contact. The virus can be spread through bites, but is typically is contracted through inhaling dust from rodent droppings, urine and saliva stirred into the air of garages, cabins and other closed-off areas.

16 April 2009, Thursday
TODAY'S ZAMAN İSTANBUL

 

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Re: Hanta virus claims first known victim in Turkey

Source: http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/detaylar.do?load=detay&link=172873&bolum=101


Experts warn against a new threat in Turkey: Hanta virus

Last year Turkey was struck by a number of cases of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF), a viral disease carried by certain tick species. Last year 55 people in Turkey died from CCHF, bringing the total number of CCHF deaths in the country over the past six years to 147, according to research conducted by the Turkish Healthcare Workers' Union (T?rk Sağlık-Sen).

While the country was preparing to take precautions against tick-borne diseases with the summer months approaching, it was shaken by a new threat: Hanta virus. The virus, which is carried by rodents and causes epidemic hemorrhagic fever and severe respiratory infections in humans, claimed its first known victim in Turkey last week, raising public concern about this relatively unknown threat. Experts say Hanta virus has probably caused sickness in Turkey for years but that it has gone unrecognized until recently, warning people to take precautions against this new threat.

The recent incident started when İlyas Bilgin, 46, was pricked by a splinter while he was trying to cut down a tree in the northwestern city of Bartın, causing his finger to swell up.

He was subsequently hospitalized with symptoms of fever, chills and nausea and died on Feb. 20 of "multiple organ failure in connection with acute renal failure," according to his doctors. The Health Ministry, however, recently announced that Hanta virus had been determined as the cause of his death. Bilgin was the only known victim of the virus to die in Turkey, yet eight people have contracted the virus in the region, and 12 others in Bartın and four in Zonguldak have been hospitalized for possible infections.

G?ven ?elebi, the associate professor at Zonguldak Karaelmas University who diagnosed the disease for the first time in Turkey, said on Wednesday that because the symptoms pointed to Hanta virus and no cases of Hanta virus infection had ever been reported in Turkey before, they informed the Health Ministry immediately, adding that the ministry formed a team in early March to work on the issue. Stressing that mine workers, farmers and foresters, who have a higher likelihood of contact with rodents, should be particularly careful, ?elebi said dead rodents should never be touched or left unburied.

Speaking to Sunday's Zaman, Turkish Public Health Association (T-HASAK) President Hikmet Pekcan said rodents can carry 22 different types of viruses and that 11 of these lead to infection in humans. Noting that although Turkish people heard about Hanta virus for the first time last week, he said this does not mean the virus did not exist in the country earlier. "There are a number of reasons the virus may have appeared, such as a disruption in the ecological balance due to climate change. Climate change lays the ground for some diseases to come to the surface," he noted. Explaining that there are a number of different rodent species, he said big rats and deer mice are the most likely to carry Hanta virus.

Preventing disease essential

Pekcan noted that it is of crucial importance to take precautions against the virus, since treatment is costly and time consuming, in addition to being potentially fatal. Emphasizing that there is no vaccine for Hanta virus infection, he said the team created by the Health Ministry is working on developing a vaccine. He explained that the virus is often transmitted through urine and droppings from deer mice and that the risk is increased because these animals do not urinate in a certain spot but move around. "The most important way to avoid the virus is to pay close attention to hygiene. Foods should be kept in capped dishes away from rats and hands should be washed frequently," he noted.

Professor Recep Akdur, from Ankara University's public health department, also drew attention to the importance of attempting to get rid of rodents in areas where deer mice are common. "If the necessary precautions are not taken against these animals, Hanta virus can be transmitted to rodents in cities and it can spread," he noted.

What is Hanta virus?

The name of the Hanta virus is derived from the Hantan River in South Korea, where the Hanta virus (the etiologic agent of Korean hemorrhagic fever) was first isolated by Dr. Ho-Wang Lee and colleagues. The disease associated with the Hanta virus is called hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) by the World Health Organization (WHO). It was formerly called Korean hemorrhagic fever. The virus causes flu-like symptoms in those infected. The disease spreads through the saliva, urine and droppings of deer mice, not through person-to-person contact. The virus can be spread through bites, but is typically contracted through inhaling dust from rodent droppings, urine and saliva stirred into the air of garages, cabins and other closed-off areas. The virus does not cause disease in the carrier animal. Humans are thought to become infected when they are exposed to contaminated dust from the nests or droppings of mice. The disease is not, however, passed between humans. Contaminated dust is often encountered when cleaning long-vacated dwellings, sheds or other enclosed areas.

19 April 2009, Sunday
ŞULE KULU İSTANBUL

 

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Re: Hanta virus claims first known victim in Turkey

Source: http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/english/domestic/11472275.asp?scr=1

Deadly Hanta virus claims second victim in Turkey

ISTANBUL - A 29-year old man became the second victim of Hanta virus in Turkey's Black Sea province of Zonguldak, Dogan News Agency reported on Monday.

Deadly Hanta virus claims second victim in Turkey

A research hospital in the province is continuing to treat five others suspected of suffering the affects of the deadly virus.

The virus, which is carried by rodents and causes epidemic hemorrhagic fever and severe respiratory infections in humans, claimed its first known victim in Turkey in February, raising public concern about this relatively unknown threat

 

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Re: Hanta virus claims first known victim in Turkey

Source: http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/detaylar.do?load=detay&link=173061&bolum=100

One more suspected Hanta virus death in Zonguldak
Authorities are speculating that the death of a 29-year-old man in Zonguldak is attributable to the Hanta virus, a virus carried by rodents that causes epidemic hemorrhagic fever and severe respiratory infections in humans that can be fatal.

If the Hanta virus is confirmed as the culprit, it will raise the number of deaths from the virus to two in Bartın and Zonguldak. The man, Şahin Sasa, was among 16 people admitted to hospitals complaining of high fever, chills and nausea in Bartın and Zonguldak and among five of whom doctors believe had contracted Hanta virus.

Dr. G?ven ?elebi of the infectious diseases department at Zonguldak Karaelmas University Hospital told the press that it was too early to say for sure whether or not Sasa fell victim to the Hanta virus. ?He was one of five suspected cases our hospital was monitoring. But preliminary testing had come back negative. Before he came to the hospital he had suffered a number of problems and exhibited vascular problems connected to epilepsy and his brain. Because he fit the bill for the Hanta virus as well, we had a number of tests run. Some of these will produce results in 15-20 days. When those results come back, we can say some concrete things,? the doctor explained. ?elebi was the first doctor to identify a case of Hanta virus in Turkey when a man arrived at his hospital?s emergency room on Feb. 20 and was admitted with symptoms of fever, chills and nausea. He died the same day, and blood tests later confirmed he died of a Hanta virus infection, while his doctors? initial billing of his cause of death was ?multi-organ failure in connection to acute renal failure.?

21 April 2009, Tuesday
ABDULLAH KARABACAK ZONGULDAK