90-Second Read: How dangerous is the Hantavirus?

Hantavirus' hosts are wild rodents like rats, mice and voles. A study published in 2021 had examined the Andes Hantavirus strain from Chile and Argentina, and noted that it may be possible this strain could be transmitted from human to human. This is known as Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS), and it can be very dangerous. The cruise ship incident is not the first case of Hantavirus human-to-human transmission.

The Hantavirus is different from the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes Covid-19. Unlike the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which spreads easily through ­airborne respiratory droplets to infect humans, the Hantavirus is transmitted mainly through inhaled dust that is contaminated by infected rodent droppings, urine or saliva. Hantavirus also apparently does not mutate quickly, unlike either the SARS-CoV-2 or influenza viruses. Eventually, it was discovered that it was a "new" virus that caused those symptoms.

This rare infection can be potentially fatal, but does not spread that easily. The South Korean strain of Hantavirus is known to cause fever, bleeding and kidney ­failure. Apparently, there was a ­massive increase in the deer mouse population around then, and this caused the wide spread of Hantavirus among humans. Hantavirus causes severe symptoms, and it is only during this period that an infected ­person can transmit the Andean strain to another person.

The Andes strain from South America is the only known ­version of the Hantavirus to transmit from human to human. Remember, there is no cure for the Hantavirus infection. Then, in the 1990s, the virus was discovered to be the cause of an outbreak in the United States.