THE CLINICAL SPECTRUM OF HUMAN HANTAVIRUS INFECTION IN SOMERSET, UK

The signs and symptoms exhibited by 29 patients with an acute illness in whom antibodies to hantavirus were detected are described. In the s evere cases the most striking signs and symptoms were the persistence for 2 or 3 weeks of a severe sore throat with pyrexia that developed e arly in the illness, followed by swelling of the face, neck and extrem ities, with arthropathy and prolonged malaise that lasted for months. A macular erythematous rash, hepatomegaly with abnormal liver function tests, and a tendency to haemorrhage was a later feature of the sever e cases. Mild cases presented with a variety of signs and symptoms tha t were very difficult to link together as a syndrome.