[From mice to men: the threat of hantavirus infections]

Hantaviruses are naturally hosted by small mammals. Virus transmission to humans can result in the development of Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome (Asia, Europe) or Hantavirus Cardiopulmonary Syndrome (The Americas). Certain hantaviruses can cause life-treatening infections with case fatality indices up to about 50%. Different virus types have evolved which use different species of small mammals (mainly but not exclusively rodent species) as natural reservoirs. It is still unknown why these different hantaviruses exhibit a different virulence when transmitted to humans as accidental hosts. This paper reviews the nature and molecular epidemiology of hantaviruses as well as strategies to identify new virus types.