National case definition: Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome

Date of last revision: May 2008
Date of last review: May 2008

National notification

Only confirmed cases of disease should be notified.

Routine case-by-case notification to the federal level

Clinical illness (see Clinical evidence section) with laboratory confirmation of infection:

Detection of IgM antibodies to hantavirus
or
Detection of a significant (e.g. fourfold or greater) increase in hantavirus-specific IgG antibody titres
or
Detection of hantavirus RNA in an appropriate clinical specimen
or
Detection of hantavirus antigen by immunohistochemistry

Clinical illness is characterized by:

a febrile illness (temperature > 38.3°C (101°F) oral) requiring supplemental oxygen
and
bilateral diffuse infiltrates (may resemble acute respiratory distress syndrome [ARDS])
and
develops within 72 hours of hospitalization in a previously healthy person
or
An unexplained illness resulting in death with an autopsy examination demonstrating non-cardiogenic pulmonary edema without an identifiable specific cause of death