Health experts say a hantavirus outbreak linked to a cruise ship should not be compared to Covid-19, despite growing public concern and online misinformation. Professor of Medecine Paul Hunter of the University of East Anglia said the virus is well known, spreads only through close contact, and poses “very little risk” to the wider public, even as passengers continue to be monitored after disembarking in the Canary Islands.
Paul Hunter says hantavirus is well known and low risk, but after Covid, people are right to be cautious about any outbreak on a cruise ship.
Glad to hear this isn’t another Covid, but the fact that passengers are still being monitored in the Canary Islands makes me wonder how ‘very little risk’ really is.
The media needs to stop comparing every virus to Covid-19. Hantavirus has been around for years and spreads only through close contact, not airborne like the flu.
Online misinformation is causing panic, but I trust Professor Hunter from UEA. He’s a credible source, and hantavirus has known treatments.
Community health initiatives can be remarkably effective when properly resourced. (79c662)
Cruise ships are already hotbeds for norovirus; now hantavirus? Even if it’s low risk to the public, I’m avoiding cruises for a while.
People are overreacting because they don’t remember that hantavirus has been studied for decades. It’s not new, and it doesn’t spread easily like Covid did.