slides
Hantavirus infections in The Netherlands
- Publication date
- 10 January 1996
- Publisher
- During the Korean war between 1951-1953, an epidemic occurred among United
Nations sanctioned military troops, characterized by fever, haemorrhages, shock and
renal failure with a case fatality rate of up to 15%. This disease became known as
Korean haemorrhagic fever [Smadel, 1951; Earle, 1954]. Despite extensive investigations
at that time no etiologic agent could be identified. In the far east the oldest
suggestive description of a similar disease had been made as early as 1000 years ago
in a Chinese medicine book [Lee, 1982a]. During the American Civil War between
1862-1866 epidemics of "general dropsy" with renal involvement were noted among
northern army troops. This disease was later called "Bright's disease" [Brown, 1916].
In Europe the first descriptions of the disease appeared in the early 1900's, after
outbreaks in Russia and Scandinavia [Mayer, 1952; Myhrman, 1934; Zetterholm,
1934]. The Russians called the disease haemorrhagic nephroso-nephritis and the
Scandinavians named it nephropathia epidemica (NE).