90-Second Read: Texas epidemiologist: Hantavirus isn’t like COVID

An outbreak of Hantavirus on a cruise ship has many asking whether the disease could spread beyond the vessel where three people died and many passengers left before the disease was identified onboard. Catherine Troisi, a professor of epidemiology at UTHealth Houston School of Public Health, says Hantavirus risks don't resemble those of COVID-19. This transcript has been edited lightly for clarity: Texas Standard: What are the symptoms around Hantavirus and how's it spread?

Catherine Toisi: So, Hantavirus is spread from rodents through their urine, feces, saliva or if you get bitten by a rat also can spread the disease. So we see it in the United States, particularly in drier states, southwest states, Arizona, Colorado… We have seen cases in Texas, but not very many over the years. And just to be clear, those cases in Texas are unrelated to this cruise ship, right?

So that's one big difference between how COVID is spread and how Hantavirus is spread. Well, there are always things you should be doing to keep yourself healthy, but to prevent getting infected with Hantavirus, nothing that you should be doing because of these cases. And even if one of them or both of them do show signs of infection, again, Hantavirus is not easy to transmit.