Engineering student dies after contracting Hantavirus

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: An engineering student died on Sunday at a private hospital here after he contracted hantavirus. Authorities have not yet revealed his identity. He was studying at an engineering college in Tamil Nadu. Doctors confirmed the presence of hantavirus while checking the patient’s blood sample. The hantavirus infections were earlier reported at Tamil Nadu and Gujarat.

The hantaviruses are a relatively newly discovered genus of viruses. Hantaviruses are negative sense RNA viruses in the Bunyaviridae family. Humans may be infected with hantaviruses through urine, saliva or contact with rodent waste products. Human infections of hantaviruses have almost entirely been linked to human contact with rodent excrement. Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) is an often fatal disease caused by hantavirus infection.