The Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (Hantavirus), or “The Next Covid,” has been revived and recently had an outbreak.
On April 1, a cruise hosting 114 passengers left Argentina. The MV Hondius ship contained a victim of the Hantavirus, where he died 10 days after leaving the port. More cases quickly appeared on the ship, with three more infected. With citizens of different countries exiting the ship, the virus has reached their respective countries with passengers coming from the US, Canada, Europe, and South Asia.
The Hantavirus even managed to spread off the cruise ship, because a passenger (who had the virus and later died from it), was on a plane. It is speculated that it spread to a flight attendant who now has the virus.
As of May 7, five cases are known to be linked to the cruise ship but most news stations stopped reporting on the issue around May 19.
According to the World Health Organization, “Hantavirus infections are associated with a case fatality rate of <1-15% in Asia and Europe and up to 50% in the Americas. While there are no specific treatments nor vaccines for Hantavirus infections, early supportive care and immediate referral to a facility with a complete ICU can improve survival,” explaining the intensity of the respiratory disease.
Symptoms often start like the flu; fever, fatigue, and soreness, but soon turns into coughing, difficulty breathing, headaches, dizziness, chills, and abdominal pains.
Ms Cox, Millikan’s AP Biology Teacher, said, “Anytime we’re talking, breathing, anything, we do have some saliva that’s vaporized, so it can carry particles with it,” explaining how this particular version spreads. “It seems like this particular outbreak was controlled.”
The first outbreak, called the Hantaan virus, was in the early 1900s, mainly during WWI with other outbreaks during the Korean War. Eventually, it caused severe Hantavirus cases in the US during 1993 and other versions in South America were discovered in 1998.
In the 2020s, cases have been rare. Mostly being from rodents, whereas since the cruise it’s been spread through the air from person to person.
As for the U.S. specifically, NBC News said, “One person who was on board the Hondius ship is at home in Arizona, another in Virginia, two are in Georgia and an unknown number are back in California, according to authorities in those states. None have reported symptoms of the rare virus…Officials say the risk to the public remains low.”
The case went viral on TikTok, with people at home wanting the cruise attendees to stay aboard to prevent it spreading. Some are even dubbing it the next Corona Virus due to its similar symptoms, even going as far as to guess that there will be another pandemic.
To avoid infection, stay away from rodents; usually the disease can only be picked up from them, but due to it going from person to person, it is best to wash hands, stay clean, and if any symptoms are noticed, seek medical care.
