Hantavirus is the latest public health scare to have emerged, with the recent spread of the infectious disease onboard the Dutch-registered cruise ship MV Hondius stoking fears of a possible global outbreak akin to the Covid-19 pandemic.  

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the first hantavirus case on MV Hondius occurred on 6 April – five days after the vessel departed from Ushuaia, Argentina and made multiple stops at various locations across the South Atlantic. At the time, a 70-year old Dutch male came down with hantavirus symptoms, succumbing to the disease on 11 April. 

Other infections followed, bringing the current total number of reported cases to 11, including three deaths, according to WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom, who spoke during a press conference on 12 May. 

“Given the long incubation period of the virus, it is possible that we may see more cases in the coming weeks,” Adhanom noted. 

Evacuation of the ship’s 147 passengers and crew members, who hail from 23 different countries, began after the vessel was allowed to anchor at Spain’s Canary Islands. Most, if not all those evacuated have since been repatriated to their home countries, where they are undergoing quarantine.

Still, concerns persist over the possible spread of the virus beyond MV Hondius. Read on to find out more about hantavirus and whether or not it poses a threat to the world at large. 

What is hantavirus? 

Hantavirus refers to a family of viruses that generally infect wild rodents such as rats and mice, which subsequently spread the disease through their excretions. 

Many variations of hantavirus have been identified, although the WHO notes that the Andes strain of the disease is the only one known to spread between humans. 

Globally, hantavirus has been found in certain parts of Asia, North America, South America, Europe and Africa. 

Why is it called hantavirus? 

The name hantavirus comes from the Hantan River in South Korea. In the 1970s, researchers carried out a study in the river, where they uncovered the rodent-borne virus responsible for Korean hemorrhagic fever, a disease that had infected at least 3,000 UN military personnel during the Korean War in the 1950s. 

The virus was ultimately named after the location where it was first discovered, with the umbrella term “hantavirus” being used to cover other strains of the disease. 

How is hantavirus transmitted? 

Wild rodents are the main carriers of hantavirus, spreading the disease through their faeces, urine and saliva. Humans normally catch the virus by breathing in virus particles or touching their eyes or face after coming into contact with objects or surfaces containing traces of the disease. 

Person-to-person transmission is also possible, although the WHO says this is rare, with the only known hantavirus strain capable of spreading between people being the Andes virus. Transferring the virus from one person to another generally involves a sustained period of contact with an infected individual and tends to occur in the early stages of infection, when the disease is most transmissible. 

What are the symptoms? 

Humans infected with hantavirus generally begin to exhibit symptoms within one to eight weeks after transmission. Headaches, fevers, muscle pain, vomiting, nausea and abdominal pain are some of the common ways in which the illness manifests itself, although the hantavirus variant that a person carries can influence the symptoms experienced. 

The WHO notes that a respiratory version of the disease is common in the American continent, impacting a patient’s lungs and heart and resulting in a fatality figure as high as 50 percent. Meanwhile, the disease is known to result in haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome in Asia, impacting the functions of a patient’s kidneys and blood vessels. Compared to the Americans, Hantavirus deaths in Asia and Europe are significantly lower, reaching 15 percent at most. 

How can the disease be treated? 

As of writing, there are no dedicated vaccines or medicines to deal with hantavirus. Consequently, treatment is limited to addressing symptoms, as well as breathing problems and other organ-related issues stemming from the virus. Having said that, the WHO has carried out meetings aimed at furthering the development of a treatment and vaccine against hantavirus. 

Is hantavirus a threat? 

According to the WHO’s latest risk assessment dated 13 May, hantavirus posed a “low” level of risk globally for a number of reasons. These include the Andes virus’s low transmission rate between humans and the current measures being taken to contain the further spread of the virus following the outbreak on MV Hondius. 

“For the general public, including people not exposed on board or through close contact with a confirmed case, the overall probability of infection remains low,” the WHO stated.

However, some have expressed concerns that officials may be underplaying the risks of the current outbreak. Apoorva Mandavili of the New York Times pointed out that there is precedent of hantavirus spreading without direct contact with infected persons, as demonstrated by a super spreading event in Argentina between 2018 and 2019, which resulted in 34 cases and 11 deaths. 

Still, the health reporter expressed confidence that the outbreak would not develop into the next global pandemic, as the disease spreads in a limited manner and officials have managed to trace and monitor all those aboard the MV Hondius. 

Authorities within China’s Greater Bay Area (GBA) have also reassured the public that the likelihood of a local outbreak remains low. Hong Kong’s government pointed out that no cases had been recorded as of 6 May, adding that on average, the city had only recorded between zero and two infections in the last five years. 

Similarly, in a statement on 7 May, Macao’s Health Bureau maintained that the risk of a local transmission was low, with the SAR not having recorded any cases of the virus in almost three decades. 

Mainland China’s disease control authority said in a WeChat article on 8 May that the country housed neither natural hosts nor any human infections associated with the current cruise ship outbreak. 

What can be done to prevent and control the spread of hantavirus? 

A number of steps can be taken to reduce the risk of hantavirus spreading. Some of the most common ones include:

• Avoiding contact with wild animals, especially rodents, as well as items and surfaces contaminated by their droppings, urine or saliva
• Keeping one’s environment clean
• Maintaining personal hygiene by frequently washing one’s hands
• Taking measures against rodents such as setting up snap traps and poison bait
• Wearing waterproof gloves when cleaning up a dead animal that may possibly be infected or their waste
• Masking up when in a crowded area or one with a poor flow of air