humans

The Centers for Disease Control says a man in Keelung who contracted
hantavirus after being bitten by a rat was infected with a strain that is
non-transmissible between humans.

The statement comes after the C-D-C confirmed Taiwan's third hantavirus
infections this year following earlier cases in Taipei and New Taipei.

According to the C-D-C, genetic sequencing identified the latest case as
being the Seoul virus, which causes hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome and
to date there have been no reports of person-to-person transmission involving
that strain.

The C-D-C says the Seoul virus strain has an estimated fatality rate of
between 5 and 15-per cent.

The patient is a man in his 40s from northern Taiwan with no recent travel
history or chronic illnesses and was bitten by a rat while working on April
7.

Health authorities say 11 household and workplace contacts have been
identified, none of whom have shown symptoms, while rodent control and
disinfection operations have been carried out at the patient's home and
workplace.