ABSTRACT
Andes virus (ANDV) is an enveloped, single-stranded, negative-sense RNA virus belonging to the genus Hantavirus, family Bunyaviridae, which is composed of ve genera (i.e., Orthobunyavirus, Hantavirus, Nairovirus, Phlebovirus, and Tospovirus) (see Figure 63.1). Interestingly, members of the genera Orthobunyavirus and Phlebovirus utilize mosquitoes and mammals for their life cycles, and humans become infected via mosquito bites; the genus Nairovirus circulates between ticks and mammals, with humans acquiring the infection through tick bites. On the other hand, members of the genus Hantavirus are maintained by cyclical transmission between persistently infected small mammals (mostly robovirus-rodent-borne virus), with incidental human infections. Nevertheless, recent reports have also shown various species of shrews from at least three continents as hosts of hantaviruses of unknown pathogenicity [1-3]. Human transmission results from inhalation of aerosols from infected rodents’ urine, feces, and saliva, as well as bite wounds; and the genus Tospovirus consists of plant-infecting viruses. To date, about 330 viruses are recognized in the human pathogenic genera Orthobunyavirus, Hantavirus, Nairovirus, and Phlebovirus, and over 50 of these viruses are classied in the genus Hantavirus [4].
