Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome is caused by which group of hantaviruses?

• A. Old World hantaviruses
• B. New World hantaviruses
• C. Both
• D. None

Answer: (B)

Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome is linked to a group of hantaviruses found in the Americas that cause severe lung illness in humans after inhaling virus from infected rodent excreta. Old World hantaviruses, found in Europe and Asia, cause a different disease—hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome—primarily affecting the kidneys rather than the lungs. Classic HPS-causing viruses include Sin Nombre in North America and Andes in South America, carried by deer mice and related species. Because HPS is the pulmonary disease associated with the New World hantaviruses, this group is the correct one.