What is hantavirus? 5 facts about the lesser-known disease behind the Atlantic cruise ship outbreak
An Atlantic cruise ship hit with an outbreak of Andes hantavirus has recently gone viral — with eight cases, including three deaths, tied to the cluster, and two Singaporeans among those being tested.
Both Singaporeans were on board the MV Hondius cruise ship when it left the Argentinian port Ushuaia on April 1. One of them is currently reported to have a runny nose, while the other has no symptoms.
The incident sparked a wave of alarmed reactions online, such as TikTok user @benwoah’s post, which garnered over 298,000 views.
What are some important things to know about this strain of virus, and did an X user really predict it four years before the outbreak?
An X user’s eerie prediction
Turns out, hantavirus isn’t new — an X user seemingly predicted it in 2022.
The post, by user @iamasoothsayer on June 11, 2022, recently resurfaced, garnering over 360,000 likes and 133,000 shares.
It contained just five words: “2023: Corona ended, 2026: Hantavirus.”
Many users were baffled, commenting that this “can’t be real”, while others turned to AI chatbots to ask how such a prediction could have been made.
The post made rounds on Reddit, with one thread amassing over 4,500 upvotes alongside sceptical reactions from netizens.
What is hantavirus?
Hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome (HCPS), also known as hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS), is a zoonotic, viral respiratory disease — meaning it is caused by germs that can spread between animals and humans.
The virus was first identified in the Hantaan River in Korea, while its first major outbreak occurred in 1993.
Known as the Four Corners Outbreak, the disease struck the Four Corners region of southwestern US. Young and previously healthy individuals developed an acute illness that began with influenza-like symptoms and, in some cases, rapidly became fatal.
Symptoms of infection with the Andes hantavirus — linked to the outbreak on the MV Hondius — typically include:
- Fever
- Body aches
- Fatigue
- Gastrointestinal symptoms
- Difficulty breathing
These symptoms often surface two to four weeks after initial exposure to the virus.
Human-to-human transmission possible
Hantaviruses are carried by certain rodents, and humans can become infected by breathing in dust contaminated with urine, droppings, or saliva from infected animals.
Exposure often occurs during activities such as cleaning buildings with rodent infestations.
While hantaviruses do not usually spread from person to person, the Andes virus has been associated with human-to-human transmission.
No licensed treatment
According to the World Health Organisation, there is no licensed specific antiviral treatment or vaccine for hantavirus infection.
Care mainly involves managing symptoms, including close monitoring of respiratory, cardiac, and kidney complications.
HCPS, which is caused by the Andes hantavirus, is associated with a case fatality rate of between 20 and 40 per cent, which means out of 10 diagnosed patients, two to four would die from the disease.
In comparison, the case fatality rate for Covid-19 was estimated at about 2.4 per cent in 2020.
What should I do?
According to an advisory by the Communicable Diseases Agency, travellers heading to areas with known hantavirus transmission should avoid contact with rodents, or areas contaminated by their urine, droppings, or saliva.
Individuals can also use a damp cloth to clean surfaces, instead of dry sweeping, which might stir up potentially contaminated dust particles.
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