Andes Virus vs Sin Nombre Virus
Both viruses cause Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome with extremely high case-fatality and rapid progression from a flu-like prodrome to cardiopulmonary collapse. The defining clinical difference is person-to-person transmission: Andes virus has been documented to spread between close household contacts (most famously the El Bolsón cluster of 1996), while Sin Nombre virus has never been shown to transmit between humans. The reservoir-host species differ, but in both cases human infection is via inhalation of aerosolised excreta in enclosed rural structures.
| Andes virus (ANDV) | Sin Nombre virus (SNV) | |
|---|---|---|
| Region | Southern South America (Argentina, Chile) | US Four Corners (AZ, CO, NM, UT), Canada, Mexico |
| Reservoir | Oligoryzomys longicaudatus (long-tailed pygmy rice rat) | Peromyscus maniculatus (deer mouse) |
| Syndrome | Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS) | Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS) |
| Case-fatality rate | 30–50% | ~38% |
| Person-to-person transmission | DOCUMENTED — only orthohantavirus with P2P | Not documented |
| First identified | 1995 (Argentina) | 1993 (Four Corners outbreak) |
| Vaccine availability | None licensed | None licensed |
| Antiviral | Ribavirin off-label in LatAm; mAbs in trials | Ribavirin trials negative |
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