Three states, including Virginia, considered hotspot for pandemic-potential deadly virus

Virginia is one of three states that are hotspots for a deadly virus circulating in wildlife, and it can also be fatal in humans.

Hantavirus, the cause of death for Betsy Arakawa, the wife of actor Gene Hackman, is most prevalent in the Commonwealth, Colorado and Texas, according to Virginia Tech researchers.

Using National Science Foundation data, the published study identified 15 rodent species as carriers, including six species that had not previously been identified as hosts of the virus.  The deer mouse and white-footed mouse are the more known hosts.

“This project is timely because hantavirus is considered an emerging disease of pandemic potential with symptoms that resemble severe COVID-19 infections,” said Paanwaris Paansri, a Ph.D. student in the Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation and co-author of the study.

Hantaviruses can reach mortality rates similar to other diseases of high concern, such as Ebola.

Little is known about the ecology of hantaviruses in wildlife except that the pathogen is spread to humans by inhalation of aerosolized excreta, urine or saliva from asymptomatic rodent hosts.

“This has direct implications for surveillance strategies and risk assessments and can help explain some cases of hantavirus in humans where the main reservoir is absent or rare,” said Paansri.

Climate change may lead to more mice and alter the epidemiology of the deadly virus, according to the researchers.

The actual number of human cases of hantavirus infections is largely unknown, Paansri said, because many infections remain silent and the infected individual may not develop any symptoms or the symptoms could mirror other diseases including the common cold or influenza.