HANTAVIRUS PULMONARY SYNDROME, RENAL-INSUFFICIENCY, AND MYOSITIS ASSOCIATED WITH INFECTION BY BAYOU HANTAVIRUS

Hantaviruses are etiologic agents of hemorrhagic fever with renal synd rome, an acute illness characterized by acute renal insufficiency, pro teinuria, and hemodynamic instability. Recently, a New World form of h antavirus disease, hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS), was recognized ; in this form, pulmonary edema is prominent, but renal insufficiency is generally lacking. HPS cases from the southeastern United States ma y be exceptional, in that they have exhibited both pulmonary and renal manifestations. One case in Louisiana and one case in Florida were li nked to infection by the distinct but closely related Bayou and Black Creek Canal hantaviruses, respectively. We report a nonfatal case of H PS caused by Bayou hantavirus that occurred in eastern Texas. Clinical manifestations included pulmonary and renal insufficiency and myositi s, which had previously been observed in the patient from Florida. The occurrence of distinctive clinical abnormalities in HPS cases from th e southeastern United States supports the concept that there are clini cally significant differences between western and southeastern forms o f HPS.