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Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS), a newly recognized disease, was first defined in the southwestern U.S. in 1993. A virus, later named Sin Nombre, was identified as the cause. Since then, other hantaviruses that cause HPS have been found elsewhere. By the end of 1998, the CDC had confirmed 200 cases (43 percent fatal) of HPS in 30 states. The authors of this retrospective analysis reviewed these cases to define the incubation period of HPS caused by North American hantaviruses. Humans become infected by exposure to infected rodents or their excreta. The authors sought cases in which rodent exposure occurred during a specific, known, limited period.
Most patients with HPS had had multiple potential exposures over a sustained period. Exposu…