How Hantavirus Differs from COVID-19

The last passenger infected with hantavirus aboard the MV Hondius cruise ship has been repatriated to the Netherlands, but new cases continue to emerge as scientists race to trace the outbreak's source. Many communities visited by passengers have reacted with anger and protests over infection fears.

This anxiety stems from the COVID-19 pandemic six years ago, which killed nearly 15 million people in two years and triggered global lockdowns. However, public health experts emphasize that hantavirus is very different from COVID-19 in transmission, danger, and pandemic potential.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated: "This is not another COVID. The current public health risk from hantavirus remains low."

What is Hantavirus?

Hantavirus is a family of viruses causing two main diseases: hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS), which attacks the lungs, and hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS), affecting the kidneys. The virus is named after the Hantan River in South Korea, where the first strain was isolated in 1978.

It is a rare infection transmitted from rodents to humans through aerosolized urine, saliva, or dried droppings. HPS has a fatality rate of about 40%, while HFRS ranges from 1-15%, according to the U.S. CDC. Flu-like symptoms appear 1-8 weeks after exposure, then progress to cough, shortness of breath, and pulmonary edema within 4-10 days.

Hantavirus has circulated for centuries in Asia and Europe. A new group emerged in the early 1990s in the southwestern United States, causing severe respiratory illness that the CDC has tracked since 1993.

Can Hantavirus Spread Person-to-Person?

The Andes strain—causing most HPS cases in Chile and Argentina, and detected on the MV Hondius—is the only hantavirus known to have limited human-to-human transmission. This transmission is very rare, occurring only through prolonged close contact within a household or intimate relations, not via casual airborne spread.

"Person-to-person transmission events occasionally occur, but they require specific conditions and long exposure," said Tomas Strandin, a virologist at the University of Helsinki. "However, rodent-borne infections are increasing due to climate change."

Latest Updates on the Hantavirus Outbreak

WHO confirmed on Tuesday the 11th hantavirus case from the MV Hondius, after Spain's health ministry reported a Spanish passenger tested positive. Earlier, the last 28 evacuees landed in the Netherlands, ending a repatriation operation that sent 94 people to about 20 countries for quarantine.

The U.S. health department said one of 18 American passengers tested positive at a Nebraska biocontainment unit. The MV Hondius departed South America on April 1 and docked at Tenerife for evacuation. Three people—a Dutch couple and a German traveler—have died in the outbreak.

According to the ECDC, some passengers may have contracted the virus in Argentina before boarding, where hantavirus is endemic. Current quarantine measures are deemed sufficient.

Differences Between Hantavirus and COVID-19

Both are RNA viruses but with distinct structures. Coronaviruses have protruding spike proteins that easily bind to ACE2 receptors in the upper respiratory tract, enabling rapid replication and droplet transmission. Hantavirus has hooked glycoprotein envelopes that bind to β3 integrin receptors deep in the lungs and blood vessel linings, making spread harder.

COVID-19 has a short incubation period (2-14 days), allowing fast spread. Hantavirus has a longer incubation (1-8 weeks), slowing transmission. Moreover, COVID-19 is a positive-sense RNA virus, replicating immediately; hantavirus is negative-sense, requiring an extra conversion step before replication.

However, hantavirus can cause severe infection in healthy young people, while COVID-19 is usually better controlled in this group. The Andes strain, though rare, can infect the upper respiratory tract due to high viral load.

Necessary Precautions

Symptomatic patients need rapid assessment and evacuation to hospitals with intensive care. Healthcare workers must use protective equipment. Asymptomatic passengers are required to quarantine and monitor symptoms for up to six weeks.

"A negative test does not rule out infection, so monitoring is crucial," said Gianfranco Spiteri, head of the ECDC’s global disease intelligence unit.

Could Hantavirus Cause the Next Pandemic?

Experts say the low transmissibility makes this nearly "impossible." Spiteri affirmed the risk to Europe's population remains low, as the natural rodent reservoir is uncommon on the continent. "People should not panic, because human-to-human spread is too rare to cause a pandemic," Strandin concluded.