Pandemic Watch
Hantavirus in KP KP
Hantaan virus circulates throughout the Korean peninsula. North Korea does not publish detailed surveillance data, but the rodent ecology — striped field mouse populations in agricultural areas — is presumed equivalent to South Korea's.
Circulating strains
Hantavirus strains documented in KP. HPS = Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (Americas, predominantly fatal lung involvement). HFRS = Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome (Eurasia, kidney involvement).
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- Rodent reservoir
- Striped field mouse (Apodemus agrarius)
- Case-fatality rate
- 5-15%
- Person-to-person spread
- Not documented
The classic 'Korean hemorrhagic fever' agent. Inactivated vaccines are licensed and used in South Korea and parts of China.
