[Hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome in children]

Seven patients, 4 girls and 3 boys, aged 3 to 12 years /X = 7.14/ affected by haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome /HFRS/., were hospitalized at the University Children's Hospital in Belgrade during the last two years /January 1988-January 1990/. The diagnosis was established on the basis of clinical features, epidemiological data and autopsy findings in one patient while in the others the diagnosis of HFRS was confirmed serologically by indirect immunoflorescence tests on Vero E 6 cells. A significant increase in antibody titre against Hantaan virus was found in all serologically tested patients. Three of them had also significant increase of antibody titre against Soeul and one against Puumale virus. In four patients the disease appeared as family outbreak at the end of January 1988 while the others were sporadical cases. All patients but one mentioned contact with rodents at home or in fields. The predominant slynical symptom were: sudden onset of febrile condition with headache, generalized malaise, myalgia, abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhoea, oliguria and oedema. All patients had haematuria and only one had other severe haemorrhagic manifestations. Four patients were hypertensive. Two patients had renal insufficiency, but only one required haemodialysis. Five patients recovered after 2 to 8 weeks without sequellae, one patient was still /7 months after the beginning of the disease/ in mild renal insufficiency and one patient died. Autopsy findings showed tubular necrosis in the kidney, myocarditis, massive pneumonia with hydrothorax and jejunal haemorrhagia.