The cruise ship MV Hondius, affected by a hantavirus outbreak, leaves the port of Granadilla de Abona, in Tenerife, Spain, May 11. Reuters-Yonhap
A deadly outbreak linked to the Dutch-flagged luxury cruise ship MV Hondius has brought renewed attention to hantavirus after the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed three people dead and 11 reported cases connected to the vessel as of Wednesday. Health officials say the virus — believed to be the Andes variant — can carry a fatality rate of up to 40 percent in severe cases. But where did hantavirus originate, how did hantavirus get its name, what are the symptoms and treatments?
Q. Where did hantavirus come from?
A. Hantavirus was first identified in the Hantan River area in Korea. It infected more than 3,200 United Nations soldiers during the 1950-53 Korean War near the current inter-Korean border. Late Korean virologist Lee Ho-wang first identified hantavirus from a rodent captured near the Hantan River, which runs through the northern parts of Gangwon and Gyeonggi provinces, and helped develop the world’s first vaccine against the disease. He first named it the Hantaan virus, which became more commonly known as hantavirus.
A. Humans can contract the disease when they come into contact with infected rodents or their saliva, urine and droppings. Hantavirus is not easily transmitted between people. But the Andes variant detected in the cruise ship outbreak may be able to spread between people in rare cases. However, such transmission is considered rare and typically requires close or prolonged contact with an infected person.
A. Symptoms can include fever, chills and muscle aches. Symptoms usually appear between one and eight weeks after exposure. Rodents carrying the virus are typically found in South America, especially near the Andes Mountains. Unlike Asian strains which can cause Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome and mainly affect the kidneys and blood vessels, the South American variant causes Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome and is known to infect the lower respiratory system.
A passenger evacuated from the Dutch-flagged hantavirus-stricken cruise ship MV Hondius waves aboard a military bus after being transferred by boat to the industrial port of Granadilla de Abona on the island of Tenerife in Spain's Canary Islands, May 10. AFP-Yonhap
Q. What is the fatality rate of hantavirus?
A. Hantavirus infections are associated with a case fatality rate of between 1 and 15 percent in Asia and Europe and up to 50 percent in the Americas, according to the WHO.
Q. How dangerous is it compared with COVID-19?
Source: Korea Times News
