90-Second Read: What is Hantavirus? Symptoms and how it is different from Covid

The sickness starts with symptoms including a fever and chills and can quickly become life-threatening A suspected Hantavirus outbreak aboard a cruise ship has claimed three lives. The 20 British passengers evacuated from a cruise ship hit by a Hantavirus outbreak arrived at an isolation facility after their repatriation flight landed in the UK on Sunday. The World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Tuesday there were eleven confirmed cases of Hantavirus and nine of those cases were confirmed as the Andes strain. Hantaviruses, which have been present for centuries, have a documented history of outbreaks across Asia and Europe, but they rarely pass between humans.

Hantavirus is "such a severe disease" there are global efforts to try and develop vaccines against it, according to Professor Robin May, chief scientific officer at the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA). Symptoms of Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome usually show between one and eight weeks after contact with an infected rodent. There are currently several passengers and staff from the MV Hondius who are isolating, including two Britons who returned to the UK independently before being aware of the Hantavirus outbreak, and are isolating at home. People are typically exposed to Hantavirus around their homes, cabins or sheds, especially when cleaning out enclosed spaces with little ventilation or going into areas where there are mouse droppings.

The disease garnered significant attention in 2025 following the death of Betsy Arakawa, wife of actor Gene Hackman, from a Hantavirus infection in New Mexico. Hantavirus is mainly spread by contact with rodents or their urine, saliva or droppings, particularly when the material is disturbed and becomes airborne, posing a risk of inhalation. Unlike Covid, most Hantaviruses do not spread between humans, although person-to-person transmission is possible. The current public health risk from Hantavirus remains low.

Death rates vary depending on which Hantavirus causes the illness. Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome is fatal in nearly 40 per cent of people infected, while the death rate for haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome varies from 1 per cent to 15 per cent of patients, according to the CDC. The best way to avoid infection is to minimise contact with rodents and their droppings, and use protective gloves and a bleach solution for cleaning up rodent droppings.