Introduction, Characterstics and Classification

Hantaan virus is a single stranded negative sense RNA virus from the family Bunyaviridae. It is from the genus Hantavirus. Its scientific name is Hantaan virus but it is often referred to as Korean hemorrhagic fever because the first known case happened in Korea around 1951. The virus was named Hantaan after a river in Korea. Hantaviruses are the only genera in the Bunyaviridae family that are rodent borne, the rest are arthropod-borne. Hantaviruses are enveloped, spherical in shape, and are approximately 90-120nm in size.

The virus attaches to host receptors though Gn-Gc glycoprotein dimer and is endocytosed into vesicles in the host cell. Replication and maturation of the virus occurs in the cytoplasm. Transcription is initiated by association of the L protein with the three nucleocapsid species. In addition to transcriptase and replicase functions, the viral L protein is also thought to have an endonuclease activity that cleaves cellular messenger RNAs (mRNAs) for the production of capped primers used to initiate transcription of viral mRNAs. As a result, the mRNAs of hantaviruses are believed to be capped and contain nontemplated 5' terminal extensions. The ribonucleocapsids migrate under the plasma membrane and buds, releasing the virion. Nascent virions are transported in secretory vesicles to the plasma membrane and released by exocytosis.