Journal/Magazine Articles

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This collection contains original research articles, review articles and case reports published in local and international peer reviewed journals by the staff members of the Faculty of Medicine

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Author: search.filters.author.Dheerasekara, K.Subject: search.filters.subject.Sri Lanka

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    Hantavirus Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome (HFRS) - Suspected cases in Sri Lanka; clinical picture and epidemiology from 2013-2021
    (National Institute of Infectious Diseases, 2022) Muthugala, R.; Dheerasekara, K.; Manamperi, A.; Gunasena, S.; Galagoda, G.
    Hantavirus; Hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) is an emerging zoonotic disease in Euro-Asia which is clinically indistinguishable from leptospirosis. A total number of 1032 patients were included in the analysis from March 2013 to March 2021 with the clinical suspicion of HFRS-like illness. Of them, 168 patients were positive for hantavirus IgM antibodies. Thirty-one patients out of 35 patients had given a four-fold rise IgG antibody titre with paired serum confirming the acute hantavirus infections. Detected antibodies showed a diverse pattern, strongly cross-reacting with Seoul, Hantaan and Puumala virus antigens. All the IgM positive patients had no serological evidence of acute dengue or leptospirosis and had classical features of HFRS; fever, thrombocytopenia and renal involvement. More than 90% of patients had a history of rodent exposure 2-3 weeks prior to the onset of the fever. The highest number of positive cases were diagnosed from the Western and North-Central Provinces of Sri Lanka during the paddy harvesting seasons. A significant number of patients had developed severe complications with a high mortality rate. Therefore, hantavirus infection should be considered as a differential diagnosis for leptospirosis-like illness in Sri Lanka.