90-Second Read: Hantavirus, ebola and other pandemics yet to come | Pius Kamau

The first Colorado death from Hantavirus since 2024 occurred in May 2026. Saddened, fascinated, we watched as an outbreak of Hantavirus infection unfolded over weeks on the Dutch flagged Hondius cruise ship as it sailed across the Atlantic Ocean. Much of the information about world Hantavirus disease is coordinated and reported by the World Health Organization. Three passengers died, and several others fell severely ill, and had to be evacuated to hospitals after the ship docked in Spain's Canary Islands.

The illness manifest as HPS and HFRS: Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome and hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome. According to the WHO, the cruise ship Hantavirus infection was of a rare type, Andes virus, that's responsible for the rare person-to-person spread. WHO is involved in the current Bundibugyo ebolavirus outbreak and has no vaccine in East Congo. Because they will visit us when we least expect them it is imperative we are always on guard, prepared for what will be.

At 95, Gene Hackman had Alzheimer's and cardiac disease which killed him a few days after Betsy Arakawa, his 65-year-old wife and caretaker, died. It's rapidly spreading across Central Africa; WHO has declared it a public health emergency of international concern. The nutrition, HIV therapy, disaster assistance, education and a plethora of other humane activities were without parallel. Each individual American has an obligation: know the current administration's limitations and protect each other.

Unfortunately, since its demise, it's been replaced by a yawning chasm. The agency that once confidently hummed with a rich culture of knowledge and developing therapies, is an orphan of what it once was. It's been helping in surveillance, technical guidance, coordination and outbreak support, training and capacity building.