Hantavirus Outbreak Differing from COVID-19 Raises Public Health Concerns Nationwide

Passengers on Stricken Cruise Ship Test Positive for Hantavirus After Evacuation

The last remaining passengers from the MV Hondius cruise ship have been flown to the Netherlands, but new cases of hantavirus infection are emerging as researchers investigate the source of the outbreak. Authorities are working to arrange quarantines and access to health facilities for the passengers.

Some communities where passengers have traveled have responded with anger and protests over concerns about exposure to the virus. The fear is fueled by a collective experience from six years ago, when the COVID-19 pandemic led to widespread lockdowns and nearly 15 million deaths worldwide.

However, experts say that hantavirus is distinct from COVID-19 in terms of its transmission, deadliness, and potential for global crisis. According to Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the World Health Organization (WHO), “this is not another COVID.”

Hantaviruses are a family of viruses that cause two main illnesses in humans: hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) and haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS). The viruses are transmitted to humans by rodents, primarily through contact with infected rodent urine, saliva, or droppings. When these materials become airborne, humans can become infected.

The fatality rate for HPS is approximately 40%, while the death rate for HFRS is less clear, ranging from 1% to 15%. Symptoms of HPS typically begin with flu-like symptoms and can progress to coughing, shortness of breath, and fluid in the lungs. Diagnosis is often difficult due to similarities with the flu.

Research suggests that hantaviruses have circulated for centuries, with outbreaks recorded in parts of Asia and Europe. A previously unknown group of hantaviruses emerged in the southwestern United States in the early 1990s, causing a severe respiratory illness now known as HPS.

According to the WHO and public health experts, person-to-person transmission of the hantavirus is rare and typically occurs through close, prolonged contact. The virus detected among passengers of the MV Hondius was the Andes strain, which drives most HPS cases in Chile and Argentina.

Source: Al Jazeera