hantavirus epidemiology by continent
Hantavirus in North America vs South America
| Feature | North America | South America |
|---|---|---|
| Dominant pathogen | Sin Nombre virus (SNV) | Andes virus (ANDV) |
| Other notable pathogens | Bayou, Black Creek Canal, New York | Laguna Negra, Choclo, Juquitiba, Araraquara |
| Primary reservoirs | Peromyscus, Sigmodon, Oryzomys | Oligoryzomys, Calomys, Akodon |
| Annual case range | Tens of confirmed cases/year (US) | Hundreds of confirmed cases/year (Argentina + Chile) |
| Person-to-person transmission | Not documented for any pathogen | Documented for ANDV |
| Surveillance maturity | CDC NNDSS: HPS notifiable since 1995 | PAHO + national ministries; quality varies |
The hantavirus epidemiology of the Americas splits into two distinct regional pictures, with surprisingly little overlap in pathogens, reservoirs, or operational response.
North America. Sin Nombre virus dominates, carried by the deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus) across the western US and Canada. Bayou virus (carried by the marsh rice rat) and Black Creek Canal virus (carried by the hispid cotton rat) cause sporadic cases in the Gulf states and Florida respectively. The CDC has tracked HPS as a notifiable condition since 1995, and the US averages a few dozen confirmed cases per year. Person-to-person transmission has never been documented in North America.
South America. Andes virus dominates the southern cone — Patagonian Argentina and Chile — with hundreds of confirmed cases per year between the two countries during peak austral-summer seasons. Multiple additional New World hantaviruses circulate in the tropics: Laguna Negra (Paraguay, Bolivia), Juquitiba and Araraquara (Brazil), Choclo (Panama and into northern South America), and others. Crucially, ANDV is the only hantavirus known to spread between humans, which changes operational response — close contacts of confirmed ANDV cases are monitored, and healthcare workers use droplet and contact precautions until ANDV is ruled out.
Why the contrast? The two continents host different rodent radiations. North American sigmodontines are dominated by Peromyscus and Sigmodon; South American sigmodontines by the diverse Oligoryzomys, Calomys, Akodon, and Oryzomys genera. Each rodent lineage carries its own co-evolved hantavirus.
For a current view of where HPS is being reported across the Americas, explore the live map.