title: Sin Nombre viral RNA load in patients with hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome.
abstract: To address the role that viral load plays in pathogenesis in patients with hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome (HCPS), we quantified Sin Nombre virus S segment viral RNA in plasma samples from 27 acutely ill patients. For 6 patients, we examined viral load in matched plasma, urine, and/or tracheal aspirate throughout the time when the patients were in intensive care. Peak titers in plasma reached 1.8 x 106 copies/mL; none of the patients had viral RNA in urine. Titers in tracheal aspirates did not exceed 8 x 104 copies/mL. We found a statistically significant association (P < .005) between plasma viral RNA levels at admission to the hospital and the severity of disease. Of those with plasma viral RNA titers above the threshold for assay sensitivity (5000 copies/mL), those with mild-moderate and severe disease had an average of 27,800 and 438,545 copies/mL, respectively. These results suggest that patients with high viral loads on admission are more likely to have severe disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Center for Infectious Diseases and Immunity, University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA.
authors.forename: Ruobing
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.forename: Shu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Fred
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Koster
authors.forename: Chunyan
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ye
authors.forename: Chris
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Stidley
authors.forename: Brian
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hjelle
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D018804:Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000821:virology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010949:Plasma / Q000821:virology; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000097:blood*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D029261:Sin Nombre virus / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000502:physiology*; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D014132:Trachea / Q000821:virology; D014556:Urine / Q000821:virology; D019562:Viral Load
chemical_list: D012367:RNA, Viral