HANTAVIRUS - A viral illness that was first described in the southwestern part of the US in 1993. Less than 100 total cases have been reported in 20 states since 1993. Over 50% die from this infection that appears to cause a respiratory illness. The hantavirus is an arbovirus in the family Bunyaviridae. Symptoms include fever, myalgias, headache, cough, and respiratory failure. Rodents are the primary reservoir host of the recognized hantaviruses. Data strongly suggests that the deer mouse is the primary carrier of the hantavirus seen in all parts of the United States except the Eastern Coast and the Southeast. In the Southeast, the cotton rat has been identified as a carrier for the virus causing HPS. Evidence of infection has also been found in pinon mice, brush mice and western chipmunks. Ticks, fleas, mosquitoes and other biting insects are not known to have a role in the transmission of hantaviruses. Human infection may occur when infective saliva or excreta are inhaled as aerosols produced directly from the animal.