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 multilingual misinformation, which dominated online discourse and disrupted public health responses to the coronavirus, resurged even as the World Health Organization insisted Friday that there remained minimal risk to the general public from passengers of the MV Hondius. 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. A flurry of similar posts declared the outbreak a "plandemic", borrowing from the title of a widely discredited pseudo-documentary from 2020 that pushed falsehoods about COVID.

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. 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.

This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. 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. 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 prescription.