Acute Hantavirus Infection Presenting With Fever and Altered Mentation in the Absence of Pulmonary or Renal Manifestations

Stephen J Fawcett; Jeffrey S Chen; Richard W Fawcett

doi:10.1093/ofid/ofac430

Acute Hantavirus Infection Presenting With Fever and Altered Mentation in the Absence of Pulmonary or Renal Manifestations

Open Forum Infect Dis. 2022 Aug 29;9(9):ofac430. doi: 10.1093/ofid/ofac430. eCollection 2022 Sep.

Authors

Stephen J Fawcett¹, Jeffrey S Chen², Richard W Fawcett²

Affiliations

¹ Washington State University, Pullman, Washington, USA.
² Columbia Sands Medical Specialties, LLC, Redmond, Oregon, USA.

Abstract

Illness caused by hantaviruses is often severe and is typically characterized by diffuse pulmonary disease or renal insufficiency depending on the type of hantavirus. Here we report 2 cases of hantavirus infection that resulted in severe cognitive impairment but did not have any pulmonary or renal manifestations. These 2 cases may be indicative of previously underreported symptoms of hantavirus infection and might represent examples of hantavirus-related encephalopathy.

Keywords: hantavirus pulmonary syndrome; orthohantavirus.