Man in Lviv region found to have hantavirus after vacation in Croatia and trip to mountains

In the Lviv region, a case of hantavirus infection has been confirmed in a 53-year-old man; the specific location and circumstances of infection have not yet been established, reported the Lviv Regional Center for Disease Control and Prevention on July 23, writes UNN.

In the Lviv region, a case of hantavirus infection has been laboratory confirmed. A 53-year-old resident of the city of Stryi has been confirmed to have hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome caused by hantavirus

The disease, as stated, began on July 12 with a rise in body temperature to 38.6 °C, chills, headache, nausea, loss of appetite, and pain in the calf muscles.

On July 15, the man sought medical attention at the Lviv Regional Infectious Diseases Clinical Hospital, where he was hospitalized with a preliminary diagnosis of "unspecified bacterial infection".

The study of biological material was conducted by the laboratory of particularly dangerous infections of the State Institution "Lviv Regional Center for Disease Control and Prevention of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine".

According to the results of laboratory tests: no antibodies to Leptospira interrogans (leptospirosis) were detected in the blood serum; no DNA of Leptospira interrogans (leptospirosis) was detected in the urine; RNA of hantavirus was detected in the blood serum by PCR method

As noted, "during the epidemiological investigation, it was established that from July 1 to July 7, the man was on vacation in Croatia, on the Makarska Riviera, where he swam in the Adriatic Sea. He traveled in his own car."

"On July 11, the man traveled through the mountainous areas of the Ivano-Frankivsk region. On his way home, he stopped in the village of Kamianka, Stryi district, where he washed his hands in the Kamianka River," the report states.

At the same time, as reported, "the patient denies contact with mouse-like rodents, their nests or excretions, being in basements, as well as consuming food or water that could have been contaminated with rodent excretions."

Currently, the specific location and circumstances of infection have not been established. Swimming in the sea and washing hands in the river are mentioned as part of the epidemiological history, but are not a confirmed route of infection

At the patient's place of residence, as stated, anti-epidemic and preventive measures are being carried out. The epidemiological investigation is ongoing.

WHO announces timeline for end of hantavirus outbreak25.06.26, 09:21 • 4718 views