Nephropathia epidemica
Encyclopedia
Nephropathia epidemica is a type of viral haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS
) caused by the Puumala virus
. The incubation period is three weeks. Nephropathia epidemica has a sudden onset with fever
, abdominal pain, headache
, back pain and gastrointestinal symptoms. More severe symptoms include internal hemorrhaging. Although fatal in a small percentage of cases, nephropathia epidemica is generally milder than the HFRS that is caused by hantaviruses in other parts of the world. The bank vole
is the reservoir for the virus, which humans contract through inhalation of aerosolised vole droppings.
The majority of infected individuals are asymptomatic or develop only mild symptoms, and the disease is not known to spread from human to human.
This infection is known as sorkfeber in Swedish
and myyräkuume in Finnish
(vole fever). In Norway
, it is called musepest (mouse plague).
Hantavirus
Hantaviruses are negative sense RNA viruses in the Bunyaviridae family. Humans may be infected with hantaviruses through rodent bites, urine, saliva or contact with rodent waste products...
) caused by the Puumala virus
Puumala virus
Puumala virus is a species of hantavirus. Humans infected with the virus may develop a haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome known as nephropathia epidemica. Puumala virus HFRS is lethal in a small percentage of cases....
. The incubation period is three weeks. Nephropathia epidemica has a sudden onset with fever
Fever
Fever is a common medical sign characterized by an elevation of temperature above the normal range of due to an increase in the body temperature regulatory set-point. This increase in set-point triggers increased muscle tone and shivering.As a person's temperature increases, there is, in...
, abdominal pain, headache
Headache
A headache or cephalalgia is pain anywhere in the region of the head or neck. It can be a symptom of a number of different conditions of the head and neck. The brain tissue itself is not sensitive to pain because it lacks pain receptors. Rather, the pain is caused by disturbance of the...
, back pain and gastrointestinal symptoms. More severe symptoms include internal hemorrhaging. Although fatal in a small percentage of cases, nephropathia epidemica is generally milder than the HFRS that is caused by hantaviruses in other parts of the world. The bank vole
Bank Vole
The bank vole is a small vole with red-brown fur and some grey patches, with a tail about half as long as its body. A rodent, it lives in woodland areas and is around in length. The bank vole is found in western Europe and northern Asia...
is the reservoir for the virus, which humans contract through inhalation of aerosolised vole droppings.
The majority of infected individuals are asymptomatic or develop only mild symptoms, and the disease is not known to spread from human to human.
This infection is known as sorkfeber in Swedish
Swedish language
Swedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
and myyräkuume in Finnish
Finnish language
Finnish is the language spoken by the majority of the population in Finland Primarily for use by restaurant menus and by ethnic Finns outside Finland. It is one of the two official languages of Finland and an official minority language in Sweden. In Sweden, both standard Finnish and Meänkieli, a...
(vole fever). In Norway
Norwegian language
Norwegian is a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Norway, where it is the official language. Together with Swedish and Danish, Norwegian forms a continuum of more or less mutually intelligible local and regional variants .These Scandinavian languages together with the Faroese language...
, it is called musepest (mouse plague).