Hantavirus is not like COVID-19 pandemic: Here are key differences you must know

As hantavirus is found on passengers aboard the cruise ship, there has been rising concern among the public.

The spread of the hantavirus is similar to the early start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, health officials urge people to stay calm as the situation is not similar to COVID-19 in any way.

Key differences

In contrast to coronavirus, which was previously caused by an unknown pathogen, it was spreading through airborne transmission. 

But hantavirus has a well-understood transmission pattern. The cause of the spread is rodent droppings, urine, or saliva.iva. Moreover, there’s no human-to-human transmission unless body fluid is transmitted.

This limits its spread between people, preventing it from becoming a large-scale pandemic. However, it is more deadly than COVID, as the mortality rate is 40% to 50%.

Hantavirus victims develop initial flu-like symptoms, which lead to severe pulmonary or kidney failure. 

Whereas Covid symptoms appear within 2-14 days with mild to critical respiratory illness, accompanied by loss of smell and taste.

Serious but contained

This time, the outbreak is being handled seriously. Contact tracing is currently ongoing, and passengers have been quarantined while the health experts look for anyone who has been in contact with the virus.

Negotiations are ongoing on where the ship can dock.

But public health officials argue that all the means of combating this virus have already been put in place – quarantine, sanitation, and rodent control. 

The wide-scale lockdowns, mask use, and vaccine development associated with the COVID-19 outbreak are not necessary this time around.

Scientists claim that the outbreak is serious but not a pandemic. 

What is the difference between an outbreak and a pandemic?

An outbreak is a sudden rise in cases of a certain disease in a limited geographical area while a pandemic spreads across multiple countries or continents. Pandemic is a health emergency which affects people at a very large scale.