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Hantaviruses belongs to the genus Hantavirus in the family Bunyaviridae are maintained in rodents and infects to humans by inhalation of the aerosol of infected rodent excreta. In this article, the epidemiology of hantavirus infection and the special relationship between rodent and hantavirus are described. Hantavirus infections include hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) and hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome (HCPS). HFRS is characterized high fever, hemorrhage, and renal disorder. HFRS is distributed in East Asia, Europe, and Russia. While HCPS is characterized acute respiratory dysfunction and cardiogenic shock. The distribution of HCPS is limited in North and South Americas. In Japan's neighboring countries, such as Russia, China, and Korea, large numbers of HFRS patients are reported in association with multiple hantaviruses. In Japan, hantavirus infection has not been reported since 1985 but grey red-backed vole (Myodes rufocanus bedfordiae) inhabiting Hokkaido maintain one of the hantaviruses. Coevolution between hantavirus and host may have been occurred during a long period. The endemic areas of hantavirus infection are strongly associated with the distribution of host animal carrying pathogenic hantaviruses.

Hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) and hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) are rodent borne viral zoonosis caused by hantavirus infection. HFRS and HPS cause epidemic in Eurasia continent and North and South American continent, respectively. Various species of wild rodents play as a reservoir animal in nature. Laboratory rat derived HFRS epidemic has also been reported in several countries including Japan. Recently, HFRS and HPS were classified to category 4 diseases in the Japanese law in which patient must be reported to municipality office. Since rat has widely been used in many institutions, prevention and control of the animal infection are quite important for both occupational hazard and research accomplishment point of view.