Also called: HPS · Hanta virus
Important: This page is general information, not medical advice. It does not recommend or prescribe any treatment. Always consult your doctor or pharmacist before starting, stopping or changing any medicine.
About Hantavirus Infections
Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) is a rare viral infection caused by several strains of the hantavirus. It is spread by mice and rats. They shed the virus in their urine, droppings, and saliva. Tiny droplets with the virus can enter the air. You can get the disease if you breathe infected air or come into contact with rodents or their urine or droppings.
Most of the time, you can't get the virus from another person. But one strain of the virus found in South America, called the Andes virus, spreads through close contact with someone who has the virus.
Early symptoms of HPS include:
- Fatigue
- Fever
- Muscle aches, especially in the thighs, hips, and back
- Headaches
- Chills
- Dizziness
- Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or abdominal (belly) pain
Later symptoms include coughing and shortness of breath.
Controlling rodents in and around your house is the best way to prevent infection. If you have been around rodents and have symptoms of fever, deep muscle aches, and severe shortness of breath, see your health care provider immediately. Early treatment is important.
There is no specific treatment, cure, or vaccine for HPS.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
It sits within Infections.
The lead U.S. institute for this subject is the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
When to speak to someone. Reading about a topic cannot tell you whether it applies to you. Speak to a doctor or pharmacist if symptoms are severe, sudden, getting worse, or simply not going away — and seek emergency care immediately for chest pain, breathing difficulty, sudden weakness or confusion, or a serious allergic reaction.
Research on Hantavirus Infections
23 studies areregistered for this condition on ClinicalTrials.gov, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's public registry. A selection is below — the links go straight to the registry entry, not to a summary of ours.
What a registered study does and does not mean. Registration means a study exists and has been declared publicly. It says nothing about whether the treatment being tested works, is safe, or is available to you. Many studies find no benefit — that is what research is for. Never seek out an experimental treatment on the strength of a registry entry alone.
Research currently under way
- Natural History of Andes Virus InfectionAssistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris
- Biomedical Signal Extraction From Symptom Descriptions: An Observational Registry Using the OpenGenome PlatformOpenGenome
- Risk Assessment of Community Spread of Multiple Endemic Infectious Diseases in a One Health PerspectiveInstitut Pasteur du Cambodge
- Hantavirus Registry - HantaRegUniversity of Cologne
- Characterising the Loss of Haemostasis in Haemorrhagic Fever With Renal SyndromeLiverpool School of Tropical Medicine
- Serological Measurement of Montpellier Professionals' Contacts with Infectious Agents Responsible for Animal-borne DiseasesUniversity Hospital, Montpellier
Research already completed
- Safety/Immunogenicity Hantaan Virus DNA Vaccine and Puumala Virus DNA Vaccine, For Prevention of HFRSU.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command
- Combination HTNV and PUUV DNA VaccineU.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command
- Hantavirus Nephropathy in North-Eastern France : Severity Risk Factors and Prognostic ToolsCentral Hospital, Nancy, France
- Diagnostic of Puumala Virus Infection in FranceCentre Hospitalier de Charleville-Mézières
- Andes Virus DNA Vaccine for the Prevention of Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome Using the PharmaJet Stratis(R) Needle-Free Injection Delivery DeviceNational Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
- Phase 2a Immunogenicity Study of Hantaan/Puumala Virus DNA Vaccine for Prevention of Hemorrhagic FeverU.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command
Study data from ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved 2026-07-30. Registry entries are supplied by study sponsors and investigators; ClinicalTrials.gov does not verify their scientific validity. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH.
Where to read more
Rather than paraphrase, we point you to the primary sources. Every link below is to a government health agency, a national institute or a recognised medical body — grouped by what you are trying to find out.
Learn More
- About HantavirusCenters for Disease Control and Prevention
- Clinical Overview of HantavirusCenters for Disease Control and Prevention
- Clinician Brief: Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal SyndromeCenters for Disease Control and Prevention
- Hantavirus InfectionMerck & Co., Inc.
- Hantavirus PreventionCenters for Disease Control and Prevention
- Hantavirus Pulmonary SyndromeMayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
Clinical Trials
- ClinicalTrials.gov: Hantavirus InfectionsNational Institutes of Health
Medical subject headings
Clinicians and researchers index this subject under Hantavirus Infections. These are the terms to use when searching medical literature.
This page is built from the MedlinePlus health topic record for Hantavirus Infections, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health. Information is from MedlinePlus.gov. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and is not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH. Retrieved 30 July 2026.