90-Second Read: How does the Andes Hantavirus spread and where is it already? A breakdown

Three cruise ship passengers have died, and six people with confirmed or suspected cases of Hantavirus are being quarantined, according to the WHO. Health authorities say it's the first-ever Hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship. Officials said citizens of the countries that passengers are returning to should know "there is nothing to fear, the risk is low, this is not another COVID." Hantaviruses have been around for centuries and are thought to exist around the world. Hantavirus usually spreads from rodent droppings and is not easily transmitted between people. But the Andes virus detected in the cruise ship outbreak may be able to spread between people in rare cases.

COVID-19 spreads much more easily than Hantavirus, sometimes even from people who are symptom-free, which made the virus extremely difficult to contain when the pandemic broke out in 2020. It wasn't until early May that the WHO said it was reacting to a suspected Hantavirus outbreak on the ship, which by that time was off the West African island nation of Cape Verde. The particular strain of Hantavirus believed to be behind the current outbreak, known as the Andes virus, can mirror flu-like symptoms to start. While there is no cure or vaccine for Hantavirus, the WHO says early detection and treatment improves survival rates. The disease gained renewed attention last year after the late actor Gene Hackman 's wife, Betsy Arakawa, died from a Hantavirus infection in New Mexico.

People are typically exposed to Hantavirus around their homes, cabins or sheds, especially when cleaning enclosed spaces with little ventilation or exploring areas with mouse droppings. Scientists are still trying to learn exactly how the Andes virus may be able to spread between people, said Dr. They suspect people could be infectious when they have symptoms, and, if the virus spreads, it may be transmitted through small liquid particles that blow out of an infected person when they talk, cough or sneeze. But as was mentioned earlier, it seems that with Hantavirus, this specific Andes, that this can be transmitted person to person, but it typically does require very close contact and typically when those individuals are symptomatic," Dr. In the U.S., federal health officials began tracking the virus after.

Most recently, a French woman tested positive for the Hantavirus and was placed in intensive care in stable condition at a Paris hospital, French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said Monday. The other syndrome caused by Hantavirus, known as hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome, which can cause bleeding, high fever, and kidney failure, usually develops within a week or two after exposure. Hantavirus is harder to get, though potentially more dangerous once someone is sick. Symptoms of Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome usually show between one and eight weeks after contact with an infected rodent. One of them has mild symptoms and will be tested for Hantavirus.