Yesterday was the first time I heard of the Hantavirus. Passengers on a cruise ship off the western coast of Africa are becoming infected. This triggers flashbacks to the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.
A Dutch couple and a German have died due to the infection. The Dutch couple may have contracted the virus while bird watching at a landfill. The wife of the Dutch man who died flew with his body back home and she died upon arrival at the Johannesburg airport. That means everyone on the plane and anyone she came in contact with may have been infected. A stewardess was reported to be sick but then it was conformed that she did not have the Hantavirus infection. That is very good news.
The virus is known to spread through rat feces, urine and saliva. You do not need to touch the rat to become infected. The virus can get airborne when rummaging through trash. It was reported that it might be airborne and spread from human to human. One “expert” said the virus is droplet based. But a virus does not fall to the ground like rain drops. An airborne virus lingers in the air for hours like smoke or dust particles. Other experts are issuing reassurances that prolonged contact is required for infection. They are making it sound like you must be trapped on a cruise ship with an infected person to become infected yourself.
The cruise ship had 147 passengers. Eight so far are known to have been infected. There are 3 confirmed deaths. The first confirmed infection occurred on April 6, 2026. The passenger died on April 11, 2026. Forty passengers have disembarked the ship to return to their home countries all around the world. Three returned to America. The Centers of Disease Control in America has been gutted and the Secretary of health is an anti-VAXer.
The COVID-19 virus had a mortality rate of 3.4% at the height of the pandemic. It is estimated that over 7 million people have died so far due to COVID-19. The exact number may be far higher.
The Hantavirus has a mortality rate of 40%. The math doesn’t look good. If the virus is not contained through contact tracing, it is therefor possible that an outbreak of the Hantavirus could result in over 82 million deaths. It is being reported however that the virus does not spread easily but only on close contact. I have not been in close contact with anyone for years, so I am perfectly safe from any mouth breathing zombie.
The WHO considers the overall public health risk to be low. I hope they are right.