Review of Hantavirus Infections in the World, Epidemiological Situation on Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome in the Russian Federation in 2020 and a Forecast for 2021

The review used the data from operational monitoring carried out by the Reference Center for Monitoring over HFRS – “Kazan Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology of the Rospotrebnadzor”, based on official data provided by the Rospotrebnadzor institutions in the constituent entities of the Russian Federation. Statistical processing was conducted using conventional methods of variation statistics applying the Excel program. Over the past decades, hantavirus diseases have become very relevant and spread throughout the world. In the territory of the Russian Federation, natural foci of HFRS are located in the European part of the country, Western Siberia and Far East. The most epidemically active foci are situated in the European part of Russia. Over the past decade, the intensive incidence rate of HFRS in the Russian Federation stayed within the range of 3.0–9.5 per 100 thousand of the population, the long-term average annual indicator – 5.2 per 100 thousand of the population. In 2020, 3845 cases of HFRS were registered (2.62 per 100,000 of the population). There was a decrease in the incidence of HFRS by 3.6 times, compared with the indicators of 2019. A factor that may have influenced the decrease in the incidence of HFRS was the depression of the epizootic process among small mammals, the main carriers of HFRS pathogens, due to natural and climatic factors. The nature of the distribution of HFRS incidence across the territory of the Russian Federation in 2020 was heterogeneous. Statistical processing of the data made it possible to identify 5 groups of territories that differ in the level of HFRS incidence. Almost all constituent entities of the Volga Federal District and the Kostroma Region belonging to the Central Federal District were classified as groups of territories with high and very high incidence rates. In 2021, the deterioration of the epidemiological situation is predicted in the summer-autumn period of the year in the Volga Federal District and four entities of the Central Federal District. 

1. Krüger D.H., Ulrich R., Lundkvist A.A. Hantavirus infections and their prevention. Microbes Infect. 2001; 3(13):1129–44. DOI: 10.1016/s1286-4579(01)01474-5.

2. Tkachenko E.A., Ishmukhametov A.A. [History of the study of the etiology of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome]. Meditsinsky Sovet [Medical Advice]. 2017; 4:86–92. DOI: 10.21518/2079-701X2017-4-86-92.

3. ICTV. (Cited 30 Mar 2020). [Internet]. Available from: https://talk.ictvonline.org/taxonomy/.

4. Avšič Županc T., Korva M., Markotić A. HFRS and hantaviruses in the Balkans/South-East Europe. Virus Res. 2014; 187:27–33. DOI: 10.1016/j.virusres.2013.12.042.

5. Papa A. Dobrava-Belgrade virus: phylogeny, epidemiology, disease. Antiviral. Res. 2012; 95(2):104–17. DOI: 10.1016/j.antiviral.2012.05.011.

6. Macé G., Feyeux C., Mollard N., Chantegret C., Audia S., Rebibou J.M., Spagnolo G., Bour J.B., Denoyel G.A., Sagot P., Reynes J.M. Severe Seoul hantavirus infection in a pregnant woman, France, October 2012. Euro Surveill. 2013; 18(17):20464.

7. Lundkvist A., Verner-Carlsson J., Plyusnina A., Forslund L., Feinstein R., Plyusnin A. Pet rat harbouring Seoul hantavirus in Sweden, June 2013. Euro Surveill. 2013; 18(27):20521.

8. Jameson L.J., Logue C.H., Atkinson B., Baker N., Galbraith S.E., Carroll M.W., Brooks T., Hewson R. The continued emergence of hantaviruses: isolation of a Seoul virus implicated in human disease, United Kingdom, October 2012. Euro Surveill. 2013; 18(1):4–7.

9. Peters C.J., Khan A.S. Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome: the new American hemorrhagic fever. Clin. Infect. Dis. 2002; 34(9):1224–31. DOI: 10.1086/339864.

10. Jiang H., Zheng X., Wang L., Du H., Wang P., Bai X. Hantavirus infection: a global zoonotic challenge. Virol. Sin. 2017; 32(1):32–43. DOI: 10.1007/s12250-016-3899-x.

11. Figueiredo L.T., Souza W.M., Ferrés M, Enria D.A. Hantaviruses and cardiopulmonary syndrome in South America. Virus Res. 2014; 187:43–54. DOI: 10.1016/j.virusres.2014.01.015.

12. Zhang W.Y., Wang L.Y., Liu Y.X., Yin W.W., Hu W.B, Magalhaes R.J., Ding F., Sun H.L., Zhou H., Li S.L., Haque U., Tong S.L., Glass G.E., Bi P., Clements A.C., Liu Q.Y, Li C.Y. Spatiotemporal transmission dynamics of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome in China, 2005–2012. PLoS Negl. Trop. Dis. 2014; 8(11):e3344. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0003344.

13. Zhang S., Wang S., Yin W., Liang M., Li J., Zhang Q., Feng Z., Li D. Epidemic characteristics of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome in China, 2006–2012. BMC Infect. Dis. 2014; 14:384. DOI: 10.1186/1471-2334-14-384.

14. Klempa B., Koivogui L., Sylla O., Koulemou K., Auste B., Krüger D.H., ter Meulen J. Serological evidence of human hantavirus infections in Guinea, West Africa. J. Infect. Dis. 2010; 201(7):1031–4. DOI: 10.1086/651169.

15. Popova A.Yu., editor. [Topical Infections in the Republic of Guinea: Epidemiology, Diagnosis and Immunity]. St. Petersburg: Saint Petersburg Pasteur Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology; 2017. 288 p.

16. Davidyuk Y., Shamsutdinov A., Kabwe E., Ismagilova R., Martynova E., Belyaev A., Shuralev E., Trifonov V., Savitskaya T., Isaeva G., Khaiboullina S., Rizvanov A., Morzunov S. Prevalence of the Puumala orthohantavirus Strains in the Pre-Kama Area of the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia. Pathogens. 2020; 9(7):540. DOI: 10.3390/pathogens9070540.

17. Kabwe E., Davidyuk Y., Shamsutdinov A., Garanina E., Martynova E., Kitaeva K., Malisheni M., Isaeva G., Savitskaya T., Urbanowicz R.A., Morzunov S., Katongo C., Rizvanov A., Khaiboullina S. Orthohantaviruses, emerging zoonotic pathogens. Pathogens. 2020; 9(9):775. DOI: 10.3390/pathogens9090775.

18. Chulpanova D.S., Solovyeva V.V., Isaeva G.S. Rizvanov A.A. Recombinant histone H1.3 inhibits orthohantavirus infection in vitro. BioNanoSci. 2020; 10:783–91. DOI: 10.1007/s12668-020-00759-5.