The broad spectrum of hantaviruses and their hosts in Central Europe

Abstract

Hantaviruses are considered to be emerging viruses due to their increasing significance as human pathogens and their cyclic reappearance during outbreaks. Central Europe is an important endemic region for hantavirus infections. Reflecting the presence of all relevant small mammals serving as reservoir hosts, close to all recognized European hantaviruses occur also in Central Europe. Important human pathogens, Puumala and Dobrava-Belgrade viruses, are present and cause hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome of various severi- ties. Moreover, several of the newly recognized shrew- and mole-borne hantaviruses are present. In this review, we summarize current data on molecular detection of hantaviruses in reservoir hosts as well as on molecular epidemiology of human hantavirus infections in Central Europe.