Hantavirus Threat and Global Public Health Risks

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Hantavirus Threat and Global Public Health Risks

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Recent hantavirus cases linked to passengers on a cruise ship have drawn global attention to the disease’s high fatality rate despite its relatively slow human transmission. Health authorities, including the WHO, are monitoring the situation while assessing the public health risk as low at present.

  • Hantavirus is a zoonotic viral disease primarily transmitted from rodents to humans.
  • The virus belongs to the Hantaviridae family and is named after the Hantan River region in South Korea.
  • Humans generally get infected through contact with rodent urine, saliva, faeces, or inhalation of contaminated aerosol particles.
  • Unlike COVID-19, hantavirus usually does not spread efficiently from person to person, except in rare strains.
  • Different hantavirus strains cause different diseases in different regions of the world.
  • In the Americas, hantavirus can cause Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS), leading to severe respiratory illness.
  • In Europe and Asia, it is associated with Haemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome (HFRS), affecting kidneys and blood vessels.
  • Symptoms include fever, muscle pain, fatigue, cough, breathing difficulty, and kidney complications in severe cases.
  • Fatality rates are significantly higher than many respiratory viral diseases, though transmission is comparatively limited.
  • There is no licenced specific antiviral treatment or vaccine for hantavirus infection. Hantavirus is primarily prevented by avoiding contact with rodents, especially deer mice, and their droppings. No specific cure exists, so treatment focuses on early intensive supportive care in a hospital ICU.

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