90-Second Read: Why Hantavirus is not like COVID, according to infectious disease experts

Infectious disease experts have sought to reassure people that the Hantavirus cruise ship outbreak poses very low risks to the wider public. According to infectious disease experts, there are a few key characteristics that set this virus apart from the one that triggered a global pandemic in 2020. Let me be crystal clear: The risk of Hantavirus to the general public remains very, very low. This is not another COVID," World Health Organization Director-General Dr. So they shouldn't- they shouldn't worry." There have been at least 10 confirmed or suspected cases tied to the Dutch-flagged MV Hondius to date, including three fatalities.

Hantavirus "infects deep inside the lungs, not the upper respiratory tract, so it's much harder to cough or breathe out enough virus into the air" for it to be easily transmissible. Hantavirus is rare and is typically spread by rodents in dry climates. Passengers repatriated over the last day or so will likely reach the peak of the virus' incubation cycle this week, according to Gottlieb, who said Sunday that people exposed during this outbreak are "nearing the end of the transmission window. Asked about his message to concerned Americans, he said, "Based on scientific assessment and based on evidence... If you see a wet log in a stone fireplace, that's going to smolder a little bit and then it's going to die out.

The the Andes virus strain involved in the cruise ship outbreak is found in South America and is the only strain known to spread from person to person. It spreads, very, very differently," said Maria Van Kerkhove, the World Health Organization's director of epidemic and pandemic preparedness and prevention, at a briefing on May 7. This is a confined area." Unlike COVID, which can spread through the air, this virus requires "prolonged" physical contact in order to spread from one individual to another, Van Kerkhove said. With COVID-19, the incubation period is much shorter, meaning the virus spreads more quickly. It has been found in areas where a Dutch couple had traveled before boarding the cruise ship in Ushuaia, Argentina, in April.

The incubation periods are different, and that's actually helpful for us in containing it. The good news here is, because of that long incubation period, that gave us more time," said Gounder. The husband initially fell ill and died several weeks before his wife. The Andes variant of this virus does not spread easily, and it requires prolonged close contact with someone who is already symptomatic. Gounder says the longer incubation period has given health officials an advantage of more time to develop their response to the outbreak.