Six years ago, schools were shut down, public spaces were bare, and almost everyone was donning either a plain or decorative surgical mask. At the same time, feelings of isolation and depression became more common, and social media outlets, such as TikTok, became global sensations, allowing for people to connect in new and different ways.
COVID-19 altered the world in various different ways beyond just causing illness, and it changed the lives of many. Many people lost loved ones, many had to learn how to become more knowledgeable about the digital space in order to continue their daily lives, and others were sitting on their phones learning the Renegade dance. There were both highs and lows to the pandemic, but the one thing that can be agreed upon is that no one wants to come face to face with another one.
Hantavirus is the latest virus outbreak to date with the discovery of infected cruise ship passengers on the MV Hondius cruise ship, causing worldwide anxiety as to whether or not this is another COVID situation.
“Before the outbreak, I knew that it was a rare viral disease that usually infected humans who inhaled dried rodent droppings,” said Mrs. Prasad-Sterling, MHS science/medical teacher. “Since the most recent outbreak, I’ve been reading up on it. I’ve learned that there are different strains of the virus, and that the infection can be (in rare cases) transmitted directly from human to human, particularly when people are in close proximity for a long time. The current outbreak occurred between passengers on a cruise ship, so they fit that description.”
Similarly to COVID-19, Hantavirus originates within infected rodents.
“All living things (even plants and bacteria) have the ability to be infected by viruses,” Mrs. Prasad-Sterling said. “However, viruses tend to be highly specific in terms of which types of organisms they’re able to infect. That is to say, plant viruses are unable to infect humans, and vice versa. Animals that are closely related to humans (such as mice, bats, and non-human primates) pose the greatest risk of spreading viruses to us. This kind of animal-to-human transmission, called zoonotic transmission, can happen with highly mutable viruses.”
With there being different strains of Hantavirus, Hantavirus is really more of an umbrella term to reference a family of viruses falling under that label. The Andes virus is the only strain in which human-to-human transmission is possible, which is the strain that causes the most fear and worry, with some even going so far as to worry that the virus will change and reach COVID-levels of impact.
“I do believe [Hantavirus] could change, but I don’t necessarily believe that it’s likely to do so,” she said. “The infection caused by this strain of hantavirus has a lower R0 (which measures how contagious a disease is) compared to COVID-19. The R0 could increase if the virus mutates to become more infectious to humans, which is fairly unlikely. It is possible that epidemiologists (scientists who study diseases in populations) may recalculate the R0 as they learn more about it (especially if cases start to increase).”
The best way to avoid contracting Hantavirus is through basic self-care.
“The most common way to contract the virus is still through rodent droppings,” she said. “We should take care to maintain rodent-free homes and public spaces. We should also avoid coming in contact with rodents and their waste. Furthermore, we should continue to practice good hygiene (frequent hand-washing for 20 seconds, avoiding sick people and hazardous materials, etc).”
As of now, the virus carries no actual impending danger, and it’s fairly manageable.
“I think we should be cautious, but not necessarily afraid. That means we should stay up to date on the news and follow advice from expert epidemiologists as this outbreak unfolds,” Mrs. Prasad-Sterling said.
“If a person has signs or symptoms of any infectious disease, they should self-isolate for at least five days. If there is strong evidence that they are infected with hantavirus (for example, if they were in close contact with someone known to have the infection), they should report their concerns to the state’s public health department and follow their instructions.”
