Climatic and Environmental Patterns Associated with Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome, Four Corners Region, United States

• Main Authors: David M. Engelthaler, David G. Mosley, James E. Cheek, Craig E. Levy, Kenneth K. Komatsu, Paul Ettestad, Ted Davis, Dale T. Tanda, Lisa Miller, J. Wyatt Frampton, Richard Porter, Ralph T. Bryan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 1999-02-01
• Series: Emerging Infectious Diseases
• Subjects: United States
• Online Access: https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/5/1/99-0110_article
• ISSN: 1080-6040; 1080-6059

To investigate climatic, spatial, temporal, and environmental patterns associated with hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) cases in the Four Corners region, we collected exposure site data for HPS cases that occurred in 1993 to 1995. Cases clustered seasonally and temporally by biome type and geographic location, and exposure sites were most often found in pinyon-juniper woodlands, grasslands, and Great Basin desert scrub lands, at elevations of 1,800 m to 2,500 m. Environmental factors (e.g., the dramatic increase in precipitation associated with the 1992 to 1993 El Niño) may indirectly increase the risk for Sin Nombre virus exposure and therefore may be of value in designing disease prevention campaigns.