Hantavirus Spreads Among Humans but Pandemic Risk Remains Low, Experts Say

Hantavirus cases have been linked to human-to-human spread in a recent cruise-ship cluster, but experts say the risk of a widespread pandemic remains low.

Health authorities have confirmed that the Andes strain of hantavirus, which is known to occasionally transmit between people, infected several passengers and crew aboard the MV Hondius and has resulted in multiple illnesses and deaths tied to the voyage.

The World Health Organization and national public-health agencies are monitoring close contacts, sequencing virus samples, and tracing passengers, while emphasizing that person-to-person transmission of this strain still appears limited to those with prolonged, close contact, according to Science Alert.

How the Hantavirus Spreads

Hantaviruses normally jump to humans from infected rodents through inhalation of virus-contaminated dust from urine, droppings, or saliva, and most hantavirus species do not spread between people.

Andes virus is the notable exception: past outbreaks have shown it can pass from a sick person to intimate contacts, caregivers, household members, or others who spend extended time in poorly ventilated, enclosed spaces with a symptomatic patient.

Clinical experts stress key differences between Andes hantavirus and respiratory viruses that caused recent pandemics. Andes virus tends to infect deep lung tissue and typically requires symptomatic cases and prolonged close exposure to transmit, rather than the efficient presymptomatic or aerosol spread seen with SARS-CoV-2.

Because infected people are less likely to shed large amounts of virus into the air before symptoms, transmission chains usually stop after a few secondary cases rather than exploding across communities.

Public-health agencies advise a cautious but measured response: identify and monitor close contacts for the virus's long incubation period, which can extend to about six weeks, isolate symptomatic cases, and test using PCR and serology where available.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has stated the overall risk to the general public and travelers remains extremely low, while WHO officials reiterate that containment and careful follow-up are appropriate for the current cluster, NPR reported.

There is no specific antiviral treatment or licensed vaccine for Andes virus; clinical care focuses on supportive treatment and managing complications such as hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, which can cause severe respiratory failure and has a high case fatality rate for American hantaviruses.

Laboratories are working quickly to sequence viral genomes from cases to confirm links and guide contact tracing, and several countries are coordinating evacuation and quarantine of exposed passengers.

For members of the public, health experts recommend routine precautions: avoid rodent exposure, maintain good ventilation in enclosed spaces, and seek medical care if fever, muscle aches, nausea, or breathing difficulties appear after possible exposure.

While the Andes strain is serious for those infected, virologists and epidemiologists say its transmission characteristics make it unlikely to cause a COVID‑style pandemic, as per CBS News.

Originally published on Science Times

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Humans, Cruise ship, Spread