ACUTE-RENAL-FAILURE CAUSED BY THE HANTAVI RUS IN THE MUNSTERLAND DISTRICT

Hantaviruses of the Hantaan-, Puumala-, Seoul-, and Belgrade serotype are the cause of several diseases with similar symptoms but different severeness due to the pathogenity of the different strains. The differ ent diseases are summarized as hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome ( HFRS). The mild courses of the disease in central and northern Europe and in the russian areas west of the ural are called nephropathia epid emica. The nephropathia epidemica is caused by the Puumala subtype of the hantavirus. The Hantaan serotype predominantly causes severe forms of the hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome as the epidemic hemorrha gic fever and the Korean hemorrhagic fever. Several clinic apparent in fections in eastern Germany caused by the Hantaan subtype have been re ported. Within three years we diagnosed an acute renal failure in thre e males aged 21, 28 and 60 years, caused by the hantavirus. The diagno sis of a hantavirus induced infection was confirmed by the course of t he antibody titer. Renal biopsies in all patients showed a mild inters titial nephritis. Two of the patients needed hemodialysis treatment fo r a short time due to the elevated serum levels of creatinine and BUN. In all cases we could see a restitutio ad integrum. With respect to t he present epidemiological data we assume that the hantavirus is endem ic in the Munsterland district.