Is Hantavirus similar to COVID? AIIMS professor explains after cruise ship outbreak

Hantavirus outbreak: For many reading up on the hantavirus, it might appear rather similar to the COVID-19 outbreak. However, Dr Puneet Misra, Professor of  Community Medicine, AIIMS Delhi has explained that it is not so simplistic. 

To begin with hantavirus is a viral disease spread by a group of viruses. The latest episode that has alarmed the public happened on a cruise ship but this infection is not new, said Misra. He explained that the hantavirus was discovered in the 50s in South Korea. 

IS HANTAVIRUS SIMILAR TO COVID?

Misra said that many people are comparing hantavirus with COVID and are getting panicked. 

MUST READ | BT Explainer: Why scientists are warning against Antarctica tourism after Hantavirus outbreak

“See, COVID was a new virus. We did not know anything about COVID. The mode of transmission was through the respiratory route. But the hantavirus spreads through rodents, rats, mice, their faeces, their droppings,” he said, explaining the differences. 

Human-to-human cases have been reported from one of the viruses, known as the Andes virus, but it is rather rare, he said. “Mainly, hantavirus is through rodents to humans. If people clean rodent-infested areas or they work in areas where there are a lot of rodents, then there are chances that they might get an infection. But to get it from an infected human is very rare,” he said. 

Misra said the symptoms of hantavirus include “fatigue, fever, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal pain”. He said there might be muscular pain and joint pain too. “Depending on the kind of virus which is there, there may be symptoms related to the lungs, pulmonary symptoms, there may be symptoms related to the kidneys," he said. 

DON'T MISS | Inside luxury cruise MV Hondius: Where it went, fare, Hantavirus outbreak & deaths

HANTAVIRUS THREAT IN INDIA?

Misra said a hantavirus outbreak in India is not very likely. “There is no pandemic threat, there is no epidemic threat…there is no need for panic,” he said. 

He also warned against misinformation. Misra said Indians do want a whole lot of information when it comes to diseases, which is a good thing, but they should not panic over it. He said it was important for the media to “spread the right information from the right source so that the public can make an informed decision, and that they are aware but not panicked”.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) said that hantavirus infections are relatively uncommon globally but has a case fatality of under 1-15 per cent in Asia and Europe, and up to 50 per cent in the Americas. 

It is estimated that 10,000-100,000 infections occur every year, with the largest burden in Asia and Europe. 

MUST READ | Hantavirus outbreak: Is India at risk from the Andes strain spreading globally?