90-Second Read: 'Small number' of Welsh residents linked to Hantavirus outbreak

A "small number of Welsh residents" have been linked to the Hantavirus outbreak. The head of the UN health agency previously said there was "no sign" of a larger Hantavirus outbreak. While most Hantaviruses do not pass from person to person, rare instances of human transmission have been documented with the Andes virus strain.

Public Health Wales says the risk to the general public is "very low". The body is working with the Welsh Government, the UK Health Security Agency, Welsh health boards and local authorities to "take appropriate action". As Hantaviruses are carried by rodents, infections in humans tend to occur in places where people and rodents co-exist.

In some cases, people develop severe breathing difficulties or low blood pressure and kidney failure, requiring hospital care. There is currently no widely available vaccine or specific antiviral treatment for Hantavirus infections. A rare strain of antivirus broke out on the Dutch cruise ship MV Hondius as it sailed from Argentina to Cape Verde.