Why the hantavirus outbreak is different from COVID-19

The last of the passengers on the hantavirus-struck MV Hondius cruise ship have been flown to the Netherlands. But new cases are emerging as researchers race to track down where the outbreak originated. As authorities seek to arrange quarantines and access to health facilities for the passengers, communities where some of the passengers have gone have responded with anger and protests against what many perceive as risk of exposure to the virus. Recommended Stories list of 4 items end of list At the heart of those fears is the collective experience the world suffered through six years ago with the COVID-19 pandemic, which sent the planet into lockdown and killed nearly 15 million people in two years. But the hantavirus is very different from COVID-19 in how it spreads, how deadly it is and how likely it is to trigger another global crisis, public health experts said. “I need you to hear me clearly: this is not another COVID. The current public health risk from hantavirus remains low. My colleagues and I have said this unequivocally, and I will say it again to you now,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director general of the World Health Organization (WHO), said in a statement on Saturday. Here is a a breakdown of the key differences between the hantavirus and COVID-19: What is the hantavirus? Hantaviruses are a family of viruses that cause two main illnesses in humans. One is known as hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) and primarily attacks the lungs. …