zoonosis

In the last days, the word ‘hantavirus‘is on everyone’s lips, and no wonder because of the very recent memory of the pandemic due to coronavirus and all the chaos it generated on our planet. This is a new virus that has come to light in the media due to the notorious cruise through Antarctica and that has already claimed the lives of several people and infected many others. An initial doubt. Until relatively recently, the epidemiological narrative was simple since hantavirus was contracted by cleaning a barn, camping in wooded areas, or inhaling aerosols loaded with urine, feces, or saliva. Oligoryzomys longicaudatusthe famous “long-tailed mouse” that carried the disease. This is what is known as zoonosis and is the protagonist of the transmission of many pathogens from animals to humans. The problem is that the virus has different variants, and each one has peculiar characteristics. One of them is the Andes variantwhich was very relevant in Argentina and Chile, where the Andes variant is endemic and thousands of cases are diagnosed under this premise. The script twist. The first theories that this virus was transmitted only from animals to humans began to raise many doubts when the first documented outbreaks appeared in Argentina and Chile. It was here that researchers began to see chains of contagion that made no sense because suddenly there were people with this virus who had not been close to any type of animal, but who did care for sick relatives. The definitive moment came with the Epuyén outbreak and thanks to the new generation sequencing carried out by the Malbrán Institute, which confirmed that the viruses isolated from related patients were genetically clonal, that is, they were the same. This confirmed that the virus It was being transmitted from person to person. How they do it. Unlike the well-known coronavirus, which traveled efficiently through aerosols in the air, the interhuman transmission of the Andes hantavirus is limited and of low efficiency. Here is the evidence that we find in the prestigious magazine The New England It suggests that transmission requires intimate contact, since it has been found in saliva and respiratory secretions during the acute phase. This is why infections can occur mainly between couples, cohabiting family members or caregivers. Although it has also been identified that certain individuals, for some unknown reason, may have a higher viral load and act as major spreaders, causing outbreaks in closed spaces. The outbreak on the cruise ship. The confirmation that we are facing a new scenario has even reached the high seas. The recent outbreak on the MV Hondiu cruise shipyeswith deaths linked to the Andes strain, has forced the WHO and PAHO to raise the tone of your protocols to provide an answer to the problem that is gradually magnifying. It takes away gravity. With the information we have on the table right now about low transmissibility, the idea of ​​returning to a great global pandemic like the one we are experiencing with the coronavirus can be put aside. The problem is that right now there are several cases of people who were in contact with this virus and left the cruise ship before the first cases emerged. And the fact that this virus needs several weeks to show its devastating effects is one of the great handicaps that right now is causing collective concern to continue to increase. Images | CDC Ocean-Wide In Xataka | Mosquitoes attack me in summer and I tried these TikTok tricks to get rid of them