90-Second Read: Hantavirus scare revives COVID-era conspiracy theories

An outbreak of the deadly Hantavirus on a Dutch-flagged cruise ship is reviving conspiracy theories about vaccines, alleged depopulation campaigns and miracle cures that flourished during the COVID pandemic. The almost-immediate resurrection of COVID-19-era conspiracy theories is a reminder that misinformation doesn't simply disappear once the crisis that yielded them is over," said Yotam Ophir, head of the University at Buffalo's Media Effects, Misinformation and Extremism lab. Some further claimed the Hantavirus was a side effect of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccines, misrepresenting a document that showed only that it was one of many "adverse events of special interest" subjected to monitoring, not something caused by the shot. The multilingual misinformation, which dominated online discourse and disrupted public health responses to the coronavirus, resurged even as the World Health Organization insisted Friday.

Ophir said many of the conspiracy theories now resurfacing have a long history, tracing to centuries-old fears that diseases were manufactured by elites. There are no approved vaccines or known cures for the Hantavirus, which is usually spread from infected rodents and can cause respiratory and cardiac distress as well as hemorrhagic fever. Outside of laboratory tests, ivermectin has not proven effective in treating infections." Ophir, from Buffalo, said the promotion of COVID-era conspiracy theories could be an effort to curry political favor—and may also be financially motivated. But online, anti-establishment physicians and some politicians immediately touted the anti-parasitic drug ivermectin and other medications as cures. Bowden later posted an offer to sell ivermectin, while Florida Governor Ron DeSantis reupped support for failed legislation aimed at making ivermectin available without.

This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. A passenger is believed to have contracted the rare respiratory disease before boarding the ship in Argentina and infecting others on board. But they spread faster now, boosted by social media algorithms and sometimes entertained by anti-vaccine voices installed in high-ranking offices by President Donald Trump. There is extreme misinformation about ivermectin," John Lednicky, a virologist at the University of Florida College of Public Health and Health Professions, told AFP.

Amid anxiety and confusion over the outbreak, he told AFP that "online influencers, social media groups, or AI-operated users, may seize the chance to make some money." Master's in physics with research experience.