Hantavirus Is Not COVID 2.0, Experts Assure

A deadly virus on a cruise ship is stirring memories of 2020, but health officials say this isn't the sequel to COVID. The World Health Organization on Thursday stressed that the hantavirus outbreak tied to a South American cruise, which has killed three passengers and sickened several others, is serious but unlikely to ignite a global pandemic, reports Axios. Authorities have identified the Andes strain on the MV Hondius, the only known hantavirus capable of spreading from person to person. So far, eight suspected or confirmed cases linked to the ship have been reported, and at least five US states are monitoring passengers who returned home, though no US cases have been confirmed, per the Washington Post.

WHO officials say the virus behaves very differently from the coronavirus. "This is not COVID, this is not influenza," said Maria Van Kerkhove, the agency's acting director for epidemic and pandemic management, per Axios. Human-to-human transmission has been associated with close, sustained contact—among household members, intimate partners, or caregivers, for example—rather than casual exposure. Forbes looks at two cruise-ship outbreaks for comparison: the Hondius' hantavirus spread, and a COVID outbreak on a Princess vessel in early 2020. The Princess ship, with 3,700 people aboard, saw a 17% attack rate, with more than 600 infected in a month's time. The much smaller Hondius, meanwhile, saw just a 5% attack rate, with only eight people said to be infected over a five-week period.

Axios notes that the virus is rare, but it is dangerous: In the Americas, hantavirus infections carry a fatality rate that can reach 50%, per the WHO. With an incubation period that can stretch for weeks, more cases could still emerge, and the outbreak has set off a cross-border effort in contact tracing and containment, from South Africa to the Netherlands and Switzerland. Experts say that while the risk of widespread transmission is low, the episode underscores gaps in understanding and tools. "Research to help us develop vaccines and develop treatments is urgently needed," said Emory University's Carlos del Rio. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus framed the incident as a reminder that health security depends on international cooperation: "Viruses don't care about our politics and they don't care about our borders." More here, here, and here to ease your fears a bit.