The Hantavirus scare reflects the reality of how this rare virus actually spreads

Fear is often more dangerous than the virus that causes it. That is the case with the current hantavirus outbreak unless something has changed about the virus itself, which is highly unlikely.

As far as we know, the only thing this hantavirus has in common with the SARS-CoV-2 virus that caused the COVID pandemic is that they are both single-stranded RNA viruses and both caused outbreaks on cruise ships. Of course, the current outbreak of hantavirus on the MV Hondius evokes memories of the Diamond Princess, which left Japan in late January 2020 to sail the Western Pacific. The cruise ended up being quarantined in Japan for two weeks, after 712 of the 3,711 people on board tested positive for the new COVID-19 virus.

But that’s where the similarities end. On the MV Hondius, which traveled from Argentina, where the Andes strain of hantavirus is found, eight patients were infected, and three died, in part because the Andes strain can cause the highly dangerous and fatal hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, or HPS. Unfortunately, the type of Andes can lead to HPS, and, given the close confines of a cruise ship, the ship is an ideal place for the spread of infection.

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One question that needs to be answered immediately is: Who or what carried the virus on board? Was it an infected mouse or an infected person? If the story is true, as has been reported, that a Dutch couple contracted the disease before they boarded a ship during a bird-watching trip through Argentina, Chile and Uruguay, where they may have been infected by rat droppings, urine or saliva, then these eight cases occurred as a result of human-to-human transmission, which is much rarer than rat-to-human transmission. This at least raises the question of whether the virus itself could have mutated, as happened with a flight attendant who apparently contracted hantavirus from an elderly Dutch passenger who later died of it.

But it’s still too far to say that nothing has changed about the virus itself. The Andes strain can spread from person to person, although it is very difficult. A study from Chile showed a prevalence of only 1% among people who have contact at home and 17% among people who have sexual contact.

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A more recent study from Argentina also showed limited person-to-person prevalence. “From November 2018 to February 2019, human-to-human transmission of Andes virus (ANDV) hantavirus pulmonary syndrome occurred in Chubut Province, Argentina, and resulted in 34 confirmed cases and 11 deaths.”

Fortunately, there are only 15 to 50 cases of hantavirus in the US per year and 150 to 300 cases in the rest of the Americas. The most common type is the Sin Nombre type, which does not pass from person to person. There are 10,000 to 100,000 cases in Europe and Asia every year, but all have complications that do not support person-to-person spread. Hantavirus remains a mouse virus.

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Here are three things you need to know about hantavirus to protect yourself from the fears and myths that are circulating.

1. Hantavirus can spread from person to person

While it is true that human-to-human transmission is possible, it requires very close contact, usually sexual contact, and has only been shown to occur with the Andes strain.

2. Hantavirus can cause the next epidemic

This is not possible at all. This virus is widely spread among rodents. The numbers are consistent from year to year, there are very few cases in the Americas, and the chance of this increase is very low without a major change.

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3. Hantavirus will cause my lungs to fail

Lies. Not only is this virus rare in the US and it is very difficult to get it unless you come into direct contact with an infected mouse or mouse droppings, saliva or urine – as did the wife of the actor Gene Hackman before he died of HPS – but, in addition, the fatal manifestation of HPS – with a mortality rate of about 40% – is much less common in US conditions than common muscle fever and diarrhea.

Authorities in South Africa and Europe must trace the contacts of any passengers who disembarked with the hantavirus, but at the same time, the risk to the general population remains very low.

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It is also prudent for public health officials to quarantine all MV Hondius passengers and crew members, approximately 150 people, who are now separated by cabins and strict disinfection rules and upon arrival in the Canary Islands, as the incubation period can be eight weeks.

Virologists must also examine the genetic makeup of the current circulating Andes hantavirus. Above all, it makes sense to fight the spread of fear with facts. Of course, an important part of this is for virologists to test the composition of the Andes hantavirus that infected these passengers.

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