If you haven’t heard yet, there is a new hantavirus outbreak. The outbreak first occurred on the MV Hondius cruise. According to arcgis.com, the ship carried 147 people, and the outbreak is thought to have started with one of the passengers, who was exposed to it in Argentina or Chile before boarding. As of May 8th, this year, there have been 8 recorded cases; 6 confirmed and 2 suspected. Out of these cases, 3 people have already died.
Some people have been worrying about the disease spreading. However, the hantavirus is not typically spread as easily as COVID or the flu. The disease is contracted by inhaling particles from infected rodent droppings, urine, or saliva. Though the disease is not normally transmitted from person to person, it can be. But it is mainly contracted if you are exposed to these rodent particles.
You may be wondering, “What are the symptoms of the hantavirus?” Well, some symptoms include severe coughing, shortness of breath, fluid buildup in the lungs, and a rapid heart rate. These are the main symptoms of the hantavirus. Although not all symptoms are known and identified.
There has been much talk of the question: Will it be the new COVID-19? As of now, there is no way to know what will happen. But research shows that there is a very low risk of getting the disease.
We decided to question some of our classmates to see what their take on this situation is.
We asked Miranda Gray, “What is your opinion on the situation?”
“Honestly, before letting people who had the virus and could be contagious out of the boat, they should have given some kind of treatment. This virus could cause an outbreak of a disease that could harm many people, even if in the past it was easy to contain. I think just in case there should be more research done and more information about the virus be released to the public,” Gray said.
We then asked Addison Hogle, “Should they have docked the boat?”
“No, I think they should’ve kept it out at sea, because they are going to spread the sickness. Since they let the people with the sickness out, I think that all of the passengers should have gone through testing to see if they were sick. Because they let a sick person off the ship, that means that the sickness could be spread, it may start a new COVID-19.”
Hogle went on to say, “I know people who do not think they will be able to make it through a whole other lockdown. I think that it could cause issues with social and mental health issues because they will be home, and not be able to talk to anyone who is not in their family. Also, for educational reasons, kids would have a delay in their learning because of these reasons, so I think that they should not have been let off the boat just in case the virus is more dangerous.”
Many people have expressed feeling the same way about the possible spread and dangers of the hantavirus, and that they are nervous we might have to go into another quarantine. After some research, though, we found that the hantavirus is much more difficult to spread than COVID-19 since it is spread from infected rodents and not by person-to-person contact.
Keeping yourself safe from the hantavirus is quite easy: avoid contact with rodents and their droppings, wash hands after outdoor activities, and by seal holes and places that rats can access.
No one knows for sure what will happen, so we can only hope for the best and do what we can to stay safe.
https://www.arcgis.com/apps/dashboards/5c68442d2afc42d7ba2696e4cd393729
https://www.who.int/emergencies/disease-outbreak-news/item/2026-DON600
