A Study on the Prevention of Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome (HFRS) in Hedong District of Linyi City

Objective To investigate the epidemiological situations of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) among both human beings and animals for controlling prevalence of HFRS effectively. Methods Epidemiological materials was collected. Indirect immunofluorescence technique (IFAT) was used to detect the HFRS specific antibodies among patients and healthy ones. Rat density was investigated by counting the trapped rats at night. IFAT was used to detect the rat pulmonary viral antigen. Deratization, vaccination and health education were used to control HFRS spread. Results HFRS occurred in 2 036 cases from 1973 to 2002 with the yearly morbidity of 14.29/100 000 and with the fatality rate of 4.31% (91 cases died). HFRS caused by Apodemus agrarius was discovered from 1973 to 1984. HFRS caused by house mouse occurred from 1985. Field Apodemus agrarius ( 77.29%) and Rattus norvegicus ( 50.64%) were the dominant species in the 6 species of 2 kings discovered in this district. Both of them are the main source of infection, and the virus carrying rates of them were 4.56% and 4.12% respectively. The latent infection rate among healthy people increased as time went on. Conclusion Hedong District of Linyi City belongs to the mixed HFRS epidemic area in which house rats are the main source of infection and which has evolved from HFRS epidemic area in which Apodemus agrarius are the main source of infection. HFRS spread was controlled through the integrated prevention in which the deratization is the main methods.