Seroprevalence of Human Hantavirus Infection in the Ribeir?o Preto Region of S?o Paulo State, Brazil

摘要

To the Editor: Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) has been identified in the region of Ribeir?o Preto, S?o Paulo State, Brazil, since 1993 (1-4). As of September 1999, 38 HPS cases had been reported in Brazil, 16 in the state of S?o Paulo (2). Between May 1998 and August 1999, the Adolfo Lutz Institute (ALI) in S?o Paulo city serologically confirmed five cases— three fatal—in the Ribeir?o Preto region: two from Guariba, one from Jardinópolis, one from Cajuru, and one from Cassia dos Coqueiros (Luiza Teresinha Madia de Souza, ALI, pers. comm.). Despite these reports and suspicions of additional cases, the prevalence of hantavirus infection and HPS in the region is not known. Laboratory confirmation has not been available locally, and sending serum samples to ALI for laboratory evaluation is not feasible in most cases. Thus, only presumptive diagnoses could be made until the Sin Nombre virus (SNV) enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was developed.