Here’s what science tells us about the risks of hantavirus

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.I knew hantavirus had reached a tipping point when my own 12-year-old called out to us after bedtime to ask: “What is hantavirus, and do we have to worry about it?”The virus that started with an outbreak on a cruise ship has infiltrated the public consciousness, and it feels like déjà vu: resurrecting painful memories of the Covid-19 pandemic that shut down the world.There are lots of questions, misinformation and, understandably, fears. But what do we actually know about the hantavirus that has infected at least 11 people, killed three of them and led to the quarantining of dozens more across the globe? How infectious—or not—is it, and how does it spread?U.S.

health officials say Andes hantavirus usually spreads through prolonged contact with infected people, but scientists say one key study has shown that it can be spread through the air and by so-called superspreaders. Some researchers say current guidelines underplay the risks of transmission, though most still expect the outbreak to be contained.One major exception is a transmission chain that he and co-researchers documented in a 2020 study in the New England Journal of Medicine, detailing an outbreak in Argentina between 2018 and 2019.

It is the largest documented outbreak of Andes hantavirus.In that outbreak, one person infected with the virus from a rodent spread it to 33 other people, resulting in 11 deaths. The majority of spread centered on three symptomatic individuals who infected others through seemingly casual contact at a crowded indoor birthday party and at a wake.