What is Hantavirus and should we really be concerned? Truth behind social media 'pandemic' claims

If you've read the news in the last few days, you may have seen alarming updates on a Hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship - one that's understandably left the public concerned.

The MV Hondius is expected to dock in the Canary Islands at the weekend, having already travelled 6,000 miles from Ushuaia, Argentina around a month ago on its expedition.

The 107.6m (353ft) polar cruise ship currently has 149 passengers on board. Five people are confirmed to have the virus, thought to be the Andes strain.

But what is Hantavirus and why has the outbreak on the cruise caused such hysteria? Here's what we know...

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What is Hantavirus?

"Hantaviruses are a group of viruses carried by rodents such as mice and rats, transmitted by their droppings and urine", the UK government described of the outbreak.

"Most hantaviruses do not spread between humans, although person-to-person transmission has happened with the Andes virus strain in rare cases. This is the strain of hantavirus that has been identified in the cruise ship outbreak."

Symptoms of Hantavirus are listed by BMJ as high fever, headaches, backache, diarrhoea, and vomiting, which usually appear one to four weeks following exposure; but could take as long as eight weeks to appear.

The mortality rate for Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) is thought to be about 35%-40% without treatment.

How many people have died from the cruise ship Hantavirus outbreak?

Hantavirus isn't a new thing - but if we're looking specifically at the outbreak related to the cruise ship, three people have unfortunately died, including a 69-year-old Dutch woman.

Should I be worried about Hantavirus?

Technically no. While reports emerging from the cruise ship may seem like cause for alarm, a huge operation is in place to trace people potentially exposed to the virus, and experts are urging people to stay calm.

What's more, while human-to-human transmission is possible, this strain of Hantavirus (Andes) is not thought to be anywhere near as infectious as the likes of measles or flu, and requires very close contact to spread.

Those still on the ship will be placed in quarantine, even if they're displaying no symptoms.

Is Hantavirus a pandemic?

No, Hantavirus is not currently a pandemic, or even epidemic, despite what social media might be telling you.

A lot of people have been comparing the ongoing situation to the start of the pattern of events that led to the Coronavirus spread, but Hantavirus is completely different in nature.

As mentioned above, it's not as infectious as other viruses including Coronavirus, and there's already been a swift response to stop it in its tracks.

One of the largest documented Andes virus outbreaks occurred in 2018 in Patagonia, Argentina and resulted in 34 cases and 11 deaths - but it's not known to ever have spread further than this.

“This is not the start of an epidemic. This is not the start of a pandemic,” Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, acting director of epidemic and pandemic management at the WHO, said in a May 7 press briefing.

WHO chief Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has described the public health risk as "low".

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