Growing concern over the hantavirus investigations has brought renewed attention to a rare strain known as the Andes virus. Unlike most hantaviruses, which spread mainly from rodents to humans, the Andes strain is one of the few known forms capable of limited human-to-human transmission.
According to experts, while hantavirus can result in what’s called a dead-end infection, in which a human becomes infected after contact with animal droppings but doesn’t pass it on to anyone else, the Andes strain is an exception. It can spread between people, giving it the potential to spark outbreaks.
While experts stress that the overall public health risk remains low, understanding how this virus spreads and why it is different is important for awareness and prevention.
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Andes is the only strain of hantavirus that spreads due to human to human transmission
The Andes virus belongs to the hantavirus family, a group of viruses primarily carried by rodents. It is primarily found in parts of South America, particularly Argentina and Chile, where infected wild rodents serve as natural reservoirs. Like other hantaviruses, the Andes strain can cause Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS), a serious condition that affects the lungs and breathing.
In 2018, nearly three dozen people in the tiny village of Epuyen in Argentina fell ill, with 11 eventual fatalities. Their illness, which caused many to be admitted to intensive care for pneumonia and severe breathing problems, was caused by the Andes strain.
Most hantaviruses spread through exposure to infected rodent urine, saliva, or droppings. People typically become infected by inhaling contaminated particles in enclosed spaces.
However, the Andes strain stands out because scientists have documented rare cases of person-to-person transmission. Research suggests the virus may spread through close contact with infected individuals, particularly during the early stages of illness or through exposure to bodily fluids.
“There is very limited experience handling this virus,” Dr. Gustavo Palacios, a microbiologist at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York, told CNN news. Dr. Palacios, who was the director of the Center for Genome Sciences at the US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, helped piece together how the virus moved from person to person in a study that was published in 2020 in the New England Journal of Medicine.
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