The first case of hantavirus infection registered in Romania. Patient now hospitalized in Arad, transferred from Bihor with symptoms
The medical authorities have confirmed the first case of a patient infected with hantavirus in Romania, identified in Arad. It is about a young man of about 25 years old, who had been hospitalized in Bihor and then transferred to Arad.
The authorities have confirmed the first case of a patient infected with hantavirus in Romania. PHOTO: archive
The patient was hospitalized for two years at the Psychiatric Hospital in Ștei, Bihor county, without leaving the medical unit during this period. He had been discharged on May 9, according to the local publication Opinia Timișoarai.
In the last days, he started showing symptoms such as fever, cough and diarrhea, which is why the doctors decided to transfer him to the Infectious Diseases Department in Arad.
Following investigations, the infection was confirmed on Friday with hantavirus, most likely a strain that is transmitted from animals, especially rodents such as mice or rats, and not from human to human.
The case is not related to the cruise ship MV Hondius.
The Directorate of Public Health launched an epidemiological investigation both at the level of the medical unit in Arad and at the hospital in Ștei, in order to establish the exact source of the infection and the possible risks.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), hantaviruses are transmitted mainly through contact with the droppings or saliva of infected rodents.
The illness usually begins with flu-like symptoms, such as fever and fatigue, that appear one to eight weeks after exposure.
The National Institute of Public Health (INSP) reported that, at present, the risk to the general population in Europe associated with the outbreak of hantavirus infection identified on board a ship in the Atlantic Ocean is considered very low.
In Romania, in the period 2023–2026, 15 cases of hantavirus infection were reported.
News being updated
