Rare Hantavirus Outbreak Sparks Fears of Global Person-to-Person Pandemic
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Hantavirus once again hit world headlines after a deadly outbreak on cruise ship MV Hondius that killed three passengers off the coast of West Africa. Public health authorities in more than a dozen countries are now tracking contacted travelers, and the World Health Organization has issued an international warning.
The outbreak raises an obvious question for readers. What is hantavirus and how much should we worry?
History of the Virus Family
The hantavirus family is named after the Hantan River in Korea. During the Korean War between 1951 and 1954, about 3,000 UN soldiers deployed near the river contracted a mysterious hemorrhagic fever. At the height of the epidemic, more than 10 percent of the infected died. Army doctors called the disease «Korean hemorrhagic fever.» They could describe its symptoms in detail but could not determine the cause.
Twenty-five years later, South Korean virologist Ho Wang Lee tested field mice along the Hantan River and isolated the antigen responsible for the disease. Scientists named the new pathogen Hantaan virus in 1980. Today, scientists recognize dozens of hantaviruses in Asia, Europe, and America. Each usually lives in a single rodent species that carries it without apparent disease.
Two Types of Disease
In humans, hantaviruses cause two different diseases. Old World strains in Asia and Europe trigger hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome, which attacks the kidneys. New World strains in America cause hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, which fills the lungs and kills up to 40 percent of patients. Andes virus, found in Argentina and Chile, belongs to the second category. It is also the only known hantavirus that spreads from person to person.
Hantaviruses do not easily jump from rodents to humans. Most infections begin when a person inhales dust contaminated with urine, droppings, or saliva of an infected rodent. Climbers, cabin cleaners, farmers handling grain, and soldiers digging trenches are at highest risk. Outbreaks often increase after wet seasons when rodent populations explode.
Andes Virus — Special Danger
Andes virus stands out because it can transmit between humans with close prolonged contact. Even so, transmission remains rare and usually limited to family members or healthcare workers. MV Hondius left Ushuaia, Argentina on April 1, 2026 after stops in Antarctica and a short port call. A few weeks later, passengers began developing fever, vomiting, and rapidly progressing pneumonia.