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| 2007 | ||
| The Hantavirus Mystery - 2007 | ||
The Hantavirus MysteryBy Matthew Morales |
2007 Article Links Benefits of ASM Membership | |
It was a scary time in New Mexico. The media broke with a story about young, healthy people from the Four Corners region who suddenly became sick and died. The Navajo Nation was stunned and rumours began to circulate widely. All the while, the medical community was scrambling for answers. It was a real mystery; Young healthy people with no medical problems do not just become sick and die in a matter of hours. The first cases of this 1993 outbreak were in New Mexico, and resources were available to investigate this mysterious disease even though New Mexico is a rural state. Fortunately, University of New Mexico Hospital researchers identified and isolated the virus in a mere 14 days. They also developed a simple blood test to check if someone had the virus. Although this made diagnosis easier, there were few treatment options. Hantavirus attacks the lungs, causing them to fill with fluid. Basically, people drown in their own fluids. When the initial research into hantavirus was being conducted, researchers discovered an effective treatment method that increased the survival rate to 50%. The life saving treatment was the utilisation of Extra Corporeal Membrane Oxygenation, or ECMO. |
This particular procedure was usually reserved for premature babies who have underdeveloped lungs. Basically, ECMO uses a machine in place of the lungs, keeping the person alive long enough for the immune system to kill the virus. The rumours during this time were intense, going as far as to claim the virus was from God punishing people for their sins and past wrongs. Some people said the disease was the work of evil spirits, while others claimed it was an agent released from Los Alamos National Labs. Sam Giammo, the public affairs officer from the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center said that during this time, ‘If you did not put what little information you had out, people were going to start rumours and the best thing to do is just to call the media and give them all of the information to avoid a panic.’ Since then, the University of New Mexico has become, according to Giammo a ‘center of excellence in treating hantavirus,’ meaning it is the only location in the United States where people with advanced and critical cases of the disease can receive treatment. In addition, the University of New Mexico is a hantavirus center of excellence and sends doctors to other parts of the world to help other physicians treat this disease. Giammo made it very clear that, ‘keeping rumours out’ is a very important part of treating the disease as the ‘rumours can sometimes be worse than the disease.’ |
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Rio Grande Branch of the American Society for Microbiology |