90-Second Read: Hantavirus isn’t very contagious, but it can spread from human to human

Social media users around the world have been claiming that Hantavirus can't be spread from one human to another. However, some social media users were quick to say that these health measures weren't justified because, according to them, Hantavirus can't be spread from human to human. Contrary to the claims circulating online that Hantavirus can't be spread between humans, human-to-human transmission has been documented by scientists, notably in a study published by The New England Journal of Medicine about an outbreak in Argentina in 2019. On May 3, the World Health Organisation ( WHO ) announced the death of three passengers on the MV Hondius, a cruise ship crossing the Atlantic Ocean, from Hantavirus.

They've been sharing as "proof" a document labelled "Hantavirus Fact Sheet", attributed to the San Juan Basin Health Department in Colorado in the United States. We found a document of tips to prevent the spread of Hantavirus that was published in 2001. Read more US vs Europe: huge differences in protocol for passengers of Hantavirus-hit ship However, this Hantavirus isn't actually very contagious at all, says Lina. However, scientists have confirmed that the strain of the virus that circulated on the...

However, contrary to the claims made by these social media users, the strain of Hantavirus identified on the MV Hondius can be spread from person to person. The La Plata County Public Health Department confirmed that Hantavirus has indeed been present in Colorado since 1993. The La Plata County Public Health Department also confirmed to us that the Andes virus can be spread between humans. While we still don't have all of the epidemiologic data, Hantavirus's R0, a mathematical term that indicates a virus's contagiosity, is "only around 1," Lina says.

However, they specified that the strain present in Colorado is the Sin Nombre virus, a totally different species from the Andes Hantavirus strain found on the MV Hondius. For the time being, there have been only 12 suspected and confirmed cases in total. Only a "relatively prolonged" contact with an infected person could lead to transmission of the virus, Sofonea says.