There is a very informative and new review from Goeijenbier et al. (2013) in Critical Review in Microbiology: "Rodent-borne hemorrhagic fevers: under-recognized, widely spread and preventable – epidemiology, diagnostics and treatment". They said that human-to-human transmission has been reported in some hantavirus cases of Andes virus infection by Martinez et al. 2005 and Godoy et al. 2009.
I agree with Stephanie.
Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome is a rodent-borne zoonosis first recognized in the United States in 1993. Person-to-person transmission has been reported from the literature.
Some studies have suggested suggesting the possibility that the virus could be spread by respiratory secretions. In addition, hantavirus antigen was readily demonstrable in pulmonary capillary endothelium from acutely ill patients, and viral RNA was found in lung tissue homogenates as well as in blood andoccasionally-plasma of these patients (Vitek et al., 2013). Epidemiologic evidence strongly suggests this route of transmission also.
I am pleased to send you this link which concern your question
http://cid.oxfordjournals.org/content/22/5/824.full.pdf+html
Thanks Stephanie and Yanick.Yes,those papers suggested, it could be the route of transmission.Researchers who are involved with this virus may get infection with aerosolized excreta of rodents or specimen.I guess still room for research on it and its transmission dynamics.
I agree with the answer provided by Stephanie (and thank you for mentioning our review). Human to human transmission has never really been proven for Andes but seems to be highly likely based on the case reports.
I would like to add that also in old world hantavirus infection with Puumala virus virus antigen was detected in saliva of acute patients. (Petterson et al. 2008)
Logically this does not proof human to human transmission in european hantavirus infections but it does raise the question whether interhuman transmission of hantavirus may occur through saliva, also since the saliva of chronically infected rodents does seem infective (petterson et al. 2008 again).
Thanks for your referred papers.Horizontal transmission is almost evident and this important human pathogen claims a priority in future research.
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