Puumala orthohantavirus was discovered and named in 1980 named after Puumala, a municipality in Finland.[3] The virus is found predominantly in Scandinavia and Finland, although it has also been reported elsewhere in Northern Europe, Poland and Russia. Because the bank vole (Myodes glareolus) acts as a reservoir for the virus, nephropathia epidemica cases track with the vole population in a three- to four-year cycle. Humans are infected through inhalation of dust from vole droppings.[4] It has been theorized that Puumala orthohantavirus, unlike other members of the genus Orthohantavirus, may also have lethal effects on its rodent host.[5]
In August 2014 an Israeli researcher studying the behavior of the bank vole in Finland died after contracting the Puumala orthohantavirus, which caused a complete breakdown of her immune system.[6]
^Brummer-Korvenkontio, M.; Vaheri, A.; Hovi, T.; Von Bonsdorff, C. H.; Vuorimies, J.; Manni, T.; Penttinen, K.; Oker-Blom, N.; Lähdevirta, J. (1980). "Nephropathia epidemica: detection of antigen in bank voles and serologic diagnosis of human infection". The Journal of Infectious Diseases. 141 (2): 131–134. doi:10.1093/infdis/141.2.131. PMID6102587.
