Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome--Panama, 1999-2000

Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) is an acute viral rodentborne zoonosis characterized by severe cardiopulmonary illness with a 40%-60% case-fatality rate. Since its identification in the United States in 1993, the recognized clinical spectrum of illnesses associated with human hantavirus infection has expanded to include mild illness, and case-patients have been identified in Canada and South America. This report describes the first confirmed HPS cases from Central America and summarizes preliminary results of clinical, epidemiologic, and ecologic investigations. Investigators identified 12 suspected cases with typical disease and captured four common species of rodents near case households.