OUTBREAK OF HANTAVIRUS PULMONARY SYNDROME IN THE SOUTHWESTERN UNITED-STATES - RESPONSE OF PATHOLOGISTS AND OTHER LABORATORIES

During late spring and early summer of 1993, national and internationa l media called worldwide attention to a cluster of deaths in the south western United States. These patients succumbed to a rapidly progressi ve severe respiratory distress syndrome. After notification of state a nd national health agencies in mid-May, a major effort was launched to determine the cause of this often fatal respiratory distress syndrome , to advise the public on safety measures, and to determine the method of spread of this ''mystery illness.'' Within weeks of recognition of the early cases, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention annou nced the probable agent, a Hantavirus. This report details the respons e of pathologists, medical technologists, and other laboratory scienti sts to this new viral epidemic, with emphasis on activities that occur red within New Mexico.