Diagnostic and Molecular Challenges in Hantavirus Identification
Introduction Hantavirus diagnosis is difficult because the clinical syndromes begin with nonspecific symptoms, the viruses are genetically diverse, and laboratory methods do not all answer the same question. Fever, fatigue, muscle pain, headache, nausea, and thrombocytopenia can resemble influenza, leptospirosis, sepsis, dengue, or other infections. By the time hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) develops into severe cardiopulmonary disease, clinical deterioration can be rapid. Hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) has a

