Sin Nombre Virus Risk Assessment in Yosemite National Park Essay

Primary treatments include antibiotic therapy, Fluid resuscitation, and crystalloid. Potential treatments depending on patient status include vasopressors and steroids, ventilator, renal dialysis, blood transfusion, and surgery.

The Sin Nombre virus is found in deer mice, common in the Southwestern part of the United States. This virus is not new to the area but the particular strain that caused the outbreak in 1993 was a new strain to the area. The Native Americans in the area have remedies for the virus. The best method for containing the outbreaks is to prevent contamination from the mice. Mice are scavengers that feed on what they can find including grains. Since 1993 there have been no outbreaks of the hantavirus but several people a year are infected and half of the infected people die from pulmonary complications.

Hendra virus (HeV) and Nipah virus (NiV) from genus henipa virus are zoonotic paramyxovirus; they can cause disease which is passed between animals and humans (1). Hendra virus was first detected in humans in Australia in 1994 with horses as intermediate host. Fruit bats of Pteropous species of Australian flying fox show serological evidence of early exposure to Hendra virus (2).

Hantavirus was first discovered in 1993 in areas in the southwest United States and found to be transferred by rodent urine, feces, saliva, and by air-born particles containing these items. The latest hantavirus outbreak at Yosemite National Park was because hantavirus’s transfer to humans by mice. Human-to-human exchange of the hantavirus in America has not

Deer are normally browsing on similar food throughout the seasons, but it depends if the food is available. During majority of the seasons white-tailed deer are getting food from hard mast, these hard mast consists of acorns, beech nuts, and hickory nuts. Since their diet mainly consists of

Marburg hemorrhagic fever (Marburg HF) is a rare, critical pyrexia which affects both non-human and human primates. Marburg HF results from the Marburg virus, a distinct animal-borne RNA virus apart of the filovirus virus. The only other known member of the filovirus family is Ebola. The virus was first identified in 1976 when there was an outbreak of the hemorrhagic fever in the labs of Marburg, Frankfurt, Germany, and Belgrade, Serbia (WHO). Throughout the lab, thirty one became infected, beginning with the laboratory workers, then followed by other medical personnel and family members who tried to take care of them. Out of the thirty one people who were ill, seven deaths were reported (CDC).

The light colored mice can survive in light colored sand because they blend in, But light colored mice in a dark environment cannot survive because predators will eat them and that cause the light colored mice to have less offspring in a dark environment. Also Mice don’t always live long in the wild, and Most of the Mices died, when they are 5 months. Most female mice can mate as early as 2 months old and they can have up to 10 litters.

One theory presented is that, since primates were infected by the virus in the African landmass, individuals who come in direct contact with the monkeys are more vulnerable to becoming infected due to the close genetic link humans have with primates. Unlike Ebola, there have been only three outbreaks of MARV, and sporadic reports of infection known to date. MARV has the uncertain dissimilarity of being the only human pathogenic hemorrhagic fever to have been imported into western countries. This shows that not only the original MARV epidemic in Europe, but also two recent imported cases in the Netherlands and the United

The five families of viruses that cause viral hemorrhagic fever are most found over the world. The Arenaviridae are a family of virus whose members are generally associated with rodent- transmitted disease in humans causing severe illnesses (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2013). Flaviviridae are a family of positive, single stranded, enveloped RNA virus. They are found in arthropods, primarily ticks and mosquitoes, and can infect

The Hantavirus is a worldwide epidemic that is caused by rodents. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) stated, the virus is transmitted through the air that has been contaminated with the blood, saliva, urine and feces of rats. In most cases the virus is spread when humans come in contact either by home infestation, occupation, or recreation. There is not a specific age, race, gender, or nationality that this virus show in, everyone and anyone can catch this virus. According to the CDC, the Hantavirus primarily causes two main disease Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (seen in most case in the United States of America) and Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome (HFRS). Both the Hantavirus Pulmonary Virus and HFRS are very fetal diseases. For the purpose of this paper and the sake of time, I will focus on the Unites Stated.

Viruses within the genus Orthobunyavirus (order Bunyavirales, family Peribunyaviridae) form a large and medically important group of arboviruses that can rapidly mutate and reassort due to their segmented, single-stranded RNA genome. Naturally occurring reassortment within this genus has resulted in the arisal of virulent reassortants, including a novel virus that emerged as a cause of hemorrhagic fever in the late 1990’s. While several orthobunyaviruses are endemic in North America and are intermittently associated with human and animal disease, the potential for reassortment among endemic Bunyamwera orthobunyaviruses such as Cache Valley virus (CVV) and Tensaw virus (TENV) is currently not well understood.

The Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) first emerged in 2012 from the Middle Eastern region, particularly the Arabian Peninsula (Banik). The MERS-CoV is a single-stranded RNA virus that, similar to the SARS-CoV and other coronaviruses, is prone to viral mutations that allow for the development of an enhanced human-to-human transmission (Chowell, Banik, Hui). Animal

Lujo Hemorrhagic Fever is caused by a bi-segmented negative RNA virus that is one of the several viruses known to cause viral hemorrhagic fever. The Lujo virus is part of the Arenaviridae family, that consist of several viruses categorized into two primary groups. The Lujo virus is categorized in the “Old World” group, which signifies that the virus in question was discovered in the Eastern Hemisphere, specifically in Africa. The majority of the arenaviruses that are categorized in the “Old World” group do not cause severe illness, with the exception of a few including the Lassa and Lujo virus. As of 2012, the Lujo virus is classified as a select agent as it is distinguished to possess the potential to severely threaten the US public’s health and safety when the mortality rate and modes of transmission is taken into consideration.

     The hanta virus is not a new foe to humanity. This mysterious and sometimes fatal disease has plagued humanity for over 1000 years. This virus, most likely originating in China over 1000 years ago, is transmitted by human contact with mice. Only relatively recently has the hanta virus captured the attention of the United States. Although the hanta virus has been known for such a long time, there is little known about the virus. In the United States most cases are found in the southwestern part of the country, although cases have been reported from all four corners of the country. Recently, there have been successful tests done on prospective vaccines for the hanta virus. Despite this, strains

Alphaviruses, including Sindbis virus (SINV) and Semliki Forest virus (SFV), are major contributors to the group of Arboviruses (arthropod-borne viruses). Circulating mainly in a sylvatic, enzootic cycle, CHIKV occasionally spills over into human populations starting in rural areas with small outbreaks. Migration of infected individuals probably results in urban introduction. CHIKF is a zoonotic and vector borne disease. Its major transmission