How hantavirus is deadlier than Covid, but slower, Pg15

Key Highlights:

• Seven cases of hantavirus were identified on the MV Hondius cruise ship traveling from Argentina to Spain.
• The World Health Organization (WHO) reported that the ship is currently stationed in Cape Verde, off West Africa.
• Three of the seven infected individuals have died, one is seriously ill, and three are reporting mild symptoms.
• Hantavirus is a family of rodent-borne viruses that can cause serious illness and death in humans.
• Hantavirus infections have a fatality rate of up to 50% in the Americas.

Detailed Insights:

• Hantavirus spreads to humans through contact with urine, feces, or saliva of infected rodents, or by touching contaminated surfaces.
• The Andes strain of hantavirus, suspected in the cruise ship outbreak, has shown some instances of human-to-human transmission.
• Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, caused by "New World" hantaviruses in the Western Hemisphere, is deadlier, killing about a third of those with respiratory symptoms.
• "Old World" hantaviruses, found in Europe, Africa, and Asia, cause haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome, affecting around 150,000 people annually.
• While both hantavirus and coronavirus are zoonotic, hantavirus rarely transmits between people, unlike the rapid human-to-human spread of COVID-19.
• Sporadic hantavirus cases have been reported in India since the early 2000s, including among patients with chronic kidney disease and those who handle rodents.

Scientific/Technical Concepts Involved:

• Zoonotic: A disease that can be transmitted from animals to humans.
• Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS): A severe respiratory disease caused by certain hantaviruses.
• Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome (HFRS): A group of clinically similar illnesses caused by certain hantaviruses.