Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2023 Jun 19;15(6):1395.
doi: 10.3390/v15061395.

Hantavirus in Panama: Twenty Years of Epidemiological Surveillance Experience

Blas Armién  1   2 , Carlos Muñoz  3 , Hector Cedeño  4 , Jacqueline R Salazar  1 , Tybbyssay P Salinas  1 , Publio González  1 , José Trujillo  5 , Deyanira Sánchez  6 , Jamileth Mariñas  6 , Ayvar Hernández  6 , Harmodio Cruz  6 , Leisy Yovany Villarreal  6 , Elba Grimaldo  7 , Samuel González  5 , Heydy Nuñez  8   9 , Susana Hesse  10 , Fernando Rivera  10 , George Edwards  10 , Ricardo Chong  11 , Ovidio Mendoza  11 , Martín Meza  12 , Milagro Herrera  13 , Rudick Kant  14 , Raul Esquivel  15 , Dora Estripeaut  2   15 , Demetrio Serracín  1 , Bernardino Denis  1 , Esthefani Robles  1 , Yaxelis Mendoza  2   16 , Gloria Gonzalez  16 , Felicia Tulloch  17 , Juan Miguel Pascale  16 , Jonathan L Dunnum  18 , Joseph A Cook  18 , Anibal G Armién  19 , Fernando Gracia  17 , Gladys Alicia Guerrero  14 , Itza de Mosca  4
Affiliations
Review

Hantavirus in Panama: Twenty Years of Epidemiological Surveillance Experience

Blas Armién et al. Viruses. .

Abstract

Twenty years have passed since the emergence of hantavirus zoonosis in Panama at the beginning of this millennium. We provide an overview of epidemiological surveillance of hantavirus disease (hantavirus pulmonary syndrome and hantavirus fever) during the period 1999-2019 by including all reported and confirmed cases according to the case definition established by the health authority. Our findings reveal that hantavirus disease is a low-frequency disease, affecting primarily young people, with a relatively low case-fatality rate compared to other hantaviruses in the Americas (e.g., ANDV and SNV). It presents an annual variation with peaks every 4-5 years and an interannual variation influenced by agricultural activities. Hantavirus disease is endemic in about 27% of Panama, which corresponds to agroecological conditions that favor the population dynamics of the rodent host, Oligoryzomys costaricensis and the virus (Choclo orthohantavirus) responsible for hantavirus disease. However, this does not rule out the existence of other endemic areas to be characterized. Undoubtedly, decentralization of the laboratory test and dissemination of evidence-based surveillance guidelines and regulations have standardized and improved diagnosis, notification at the level of the primary care system, and management in intensive care units nationwide.

Keywords: Choclo orthohantavirus; Oligoryzomys costaricensis (=fulvescens); One Health; epidemiologic surveillance; hantavirus disease; hantavirus fever; hantavirus pulmonary syndrome.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript; or in the decision to publish the results.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Distribution of hantavirus disease cases confirmed by ‘corregimiento’ (townships). The area highlighted in pink includes the corregimientos where cases of acute illness were detected and coincides with the capture sites of Oligoryzomys costaricensis in which positive individuals for Choclo orthohantavirus (red dots) have been detected [17,21]. The corregimientos with a higher number of cases are highlighted in yellow, orange, and red.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Hantavirus disease cases reported by age group in Panama during 1999–2019.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Cases of hantavirus disease reported per five-year period in Panama, during 2000–2019. (a) Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome; (b) Hantavirus fever.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Number of hantavirus disease cases and case fatality rate (HPS, HD) per year, 1999–2019.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Number of cumulative cases per month of hantavirus disease in Panama, 1999–2019.
Figure 6
Figure 6
The number of cases (bars) of and case-fatality rate (line) for hantavirus pulmonary syndrome by age group and sex, Panama, 1999–2019.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Nichol S.T., Spiropoulou C.F., Morzunov S., Rollin P.E., Ksiazek T.G., Feldmann H., Sanchez A., Childs J., Zaki S., Peters C.J. Genetic Identification of a Hantavirus Associated with an Outbreak of Acute Respiratory Illness. Science (1979) 1993;262:914–917. doi: 10.1126/science.8235615. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Childs J.E., Ksiazek T.G., Spiropoulou C.F., Krebs J.W., Morzunov S., Maupin G.O., Gage K.L., Rollin P.E., Sarisky J., Enscore R.E., et al. Serologic and Genetic Identification of Peromyscus maniculatus as the Primary Rodent Reservoir for a New Hantavirus in the Southwestern United States. J. Infect. Dis. 1994;169:1271–1280. doi: 10.1093/infdis/169.6.1271. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Milholland M.T., Castro-Arellano I., Suzán G., Garcia-Peña G.E., Lee T.E., Rohde R.E., Alonso Aguirre A., Mills J.N. Global Diversity and Distribution of Hantaviruses and Their Hosts. Ecohealth. 2018;15:163–208. doi: 10.1007/s10393-017-1305-2. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Yanagihara R., Gu S.H., Arai S., Kang H.J., Song J.W. Hantaviruses: Rediscovery and New Beginnings. Virus Res. 2014;187:6–14. doi: 10.1016/j.virusres.2013.12.038. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Martinez V.P., Bellomo C., San Juan J., Pinna D., Forlenza R., Elder M., Padula P.J. Person-to-Person Transmission of Andes Virus. Emerg. Infect. Dis. 2005;11:1848–1853. doi: 10.3201/eid1112.050501. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

Publication types