Three-week incubation period for hantavirus infection.

Occasionally a case report can provide enormous insight into the pathogenesis of an infectious disease. In this instance, 2 Iowa boys were bitten by the same mouse on May 1, 1999. Three weeks later, both boys developed sin nombre hantavirus pulmonary syndrome. Thus, the incubation period of hantavirus infection has been documented. Both survived; one of the 2 boys continued to have a very high titer of hantavirus antibody 4 years after the mouse bite.