title: Retrospective and prospective studies of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome in rural China.
abstract: Residents of two villages in Zhejiang Province, China, were interviewed and serum samples were collected to assess prevalence of hantavirus infection. Antibody prevalence was 12% (219/1811), with a ratio of illness to infection of 1.0:5.4. Seroprevalence increased with age, but no association was found with sex. There was also no evidence of vertical transmission. One year later, 2.3% (30/1325) of seronegative subjects had seroconverted including 2 who had hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome. Peak incidence of infection occurred in those 15-39 years old. Hantaan was the dominant serotype; Seoul serotype was less common (5:1). Host reservoirs were Apodemus agrarius in agricultural fields and Rattus norvegicus in houses. Risk factors for infection were traces of rat-contaminated food, travel to other areas for farm work, direct rodent contact, camping in grain fields, living in a house on the periphery of a village, stacking straw stacks outside houses, and keeping cats. All may provide exposure to infectious rodent reservoirs.
authors.affiliation: Special Pathogens Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia 30333.
authors.forename: S L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Ruo
authors.forename: Y L
authors.initials: YL
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Tong
authors.forename: Q R
authors.initials: QR
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.forename: Z L
authors.initials: ZL
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Y W
authors.initials: YW
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.forename: K L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Ye
authors.forename: J B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: McCormick
authors.forename: S P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Fisher-Hoch
authors.forename: Z Y
authors.initials: ZY
authors.lastname: Xu
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000818:Animals; D000829:Animals, Domestic; D002415:Cats; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005190:Family; D005260:Female; D005506:Food Contamination; D006480:Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000635:transmission; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D011446:Prospective Studies; D051381:Rats; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012424:Rural Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012737:Sex Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors