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May-2026 | Hantavirus (Andes Variant) Outbreak

willrod1989

willrod1989

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 4, 2017
Location
Detroit, Michigan, USA
The CDC has classified the Hantavirus outbreak as a Level 3 outbreak. If there were an equivalent scale as the DEFCON Warning System used for pandemics, this would likely warrant a "PANDEMICON" 4. The strain of the virus causing this outbreak is known as the Andes virus and is the only strain of Hantavirus known to be transmissible from person to person. It was previously thought that it could only spread through sustained contact with an infected individual. However, at least one flight attendant is thought to have been infected from briefly sharing the air with someone who was known to be infected. There is no indication that this virus is likely to cause an imminent pandemic, however due to the unknown transmission dynamics of this current strain, it is wise to begin paying close attention to this outbreak.

MADRID -- Spanish authorities on Friday were preparing to receive more than 140 passengers and crew members on board a hantavirus-stricken cruise ship headed for the Canary Islands, where health officials have said they will perform careful evacuations.

The vessel is expected to arrive Sunday at the Spanish island of Tenerife, off the coast of West Africa, and passengers will be taken to a "completely isolated, cordoned-off area," said the head of Spain's emergency services, Virginia Barcones.

While three people have died since the outbreak, and five passengers who left the ship are known to be infected with hantavirus, cruise operator Oceanwide Expeditions said Thursday there were no people with symptoms of a possible infection on board the Dutch-flagged ship, the MV Hondius.

The World Health Organization considers the risk to the wider public from the outbreak as low.

On Friday, the WHO said a flight attendant on a plane briefly boarded by an infected cruise passenger has tested negative for hantavirus. Her possible infection had raised concerns about the virus's potential transmissibility.


The flight attendant's negative result should ease concerns among the public, said Christian Lindmeier, a WHO spokesman. "The risk remains absolutely low," he said. "This is not a new COVID."

Hantavirus is usually spread by the inhalation of contaminated rodent droppings and isn't easily transmitted between people. But the Andes virus detected in the cruise ship outbreak may be able to spread between people in rare cases. Symptoms usually show between one and eight weeks after exposure.

Health authorities across four continents were continuing to track down and monitor more than two dozen passengers who disembarked the ship before the deadly outbreak was detected. They were also scrambling to trace others who may have come into contact with them since then.
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CDC classifies hantavirus outbreak as 'Level 3' emergency response
 
DEFCON Warning System said:
That definitely put it in perspective. Clairese was just talking to me about this.
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It's definitely something that is on my radar. More than likely, this will end up being another outbreak that fizzles out after a while. There is also the possibility that this could outbreak could intensify before it's brought under control, similar to Mpox or Ebola. What concerns me is that Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome has a long incubation period (it can take up to 42 days), and starts out with non-specific, flu-like symptoms. What also concerns me is that the 2018-2019 Epuyén outbreak of Andes virus spread very rapidly, with an estimated basic reproductive number (R0) of around 2. To put this in perspective, the original strain of SARS-CoV-2 was estimated to have an R0 of between 2-3. However, it is very likely that COVID-19 was spreading for several weeks before the PRC notified the WHO about the outbreak.
 
I've been paying very close attention. Definitely a lot of red flags and already a lot of "leaks" before it was "known" or containment measures attempted. To put it nicely, everyone is using fancy words to say they have no clue how far this has spread now because plenty of people left that ship and traveled before quarantine was established. So. It's out there. Now we wait to see how far it has spread in 8 weeks... And to see if they can backtrace those whom have came in contact with these people before the spread becomes unmappable and becomes a pandemic.

And because many people traveled or left the ship before quarantine happened. I'm afraid it will spread faster than the W.H.O can track transmission cases. Which will = a pandemic and it seems much, much more lethal than COVID ever is or could have been.

Also the more this spreads human to human the more chances of this mutating. Which can either be bad or good. Bad it becomes easier to spread. Good it becomes less transmissible. Coin toss with mutation. But the threat remains the more it spreads the higher the risk or mutations.
 
Also when both the left and right wing media say don't panic.... I mean. When the media says don't panic across the spectrum of mainstream media. That's a red flag to me. But that's my distrust in any institution, media, & government. Not a fact worth putting into any solid analysis.

I mean H1N1, Mpox, COVID, the media didn't say don't panic. They almost enabled it dare I say....

Now suddenly their response is entirely different compared to all past pandemic scares? 🤔 Idk man. The fact patient zero's are dead are also not comforting.

I'm not saying panic. No. Just. Lots of red flags are going up for me as days pass.
 
Also if in 8 weeks we find out it spread beyond W.H.O abilities to backtrace infection... I'll turn this into a report and analysis thread IF this gets out of control. Hopefully not. Though. I have a bad feeling based on current known facts and how institutions and media acting/saying.
 
I don't like that it's sounding very early Covid-like (think November 2019) but that may just me being paranoid and suffering some kind of PTSD from the lockdown.....
 
NuclearID said:
Also when both the left and right wing media say don't panic.... I mean. When the media says don't panic across the spectrum of mainstream media. That's a red flag to me. But that's my distrust in any institution, media, & government. Not a fact worth putting into any solid analysis.

I mean H1N1, Mpox, COVID, the media didn't say don't panic. They almost enabled it dare I say....

Now suddenly their response is entirely different compared to all past pandemic scares? 🤔 Idk man. The fact patient zero's are dead are also not comforting.

I'm not saying panic. No. Just. Lots of red flags are going up for me as days pass.
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To be fair, the media and public health authorities kept saying that the risk to the general public was low at the beginning of each of those outbreaks, especially the COVID-19 pandemic. That is usually the standard line to keep the public from panicking while public health authorities try to buy time and figure out what is going on.

The COVID-19 pandemic was definitely in a category of its own when it comes to an incompetent response. The PRC government did everything they could to hide the original outbreak for weeks. Based on some retrospective modeling of the pandemic that I have seen, it is probable that the virus was already present in humans as early as late September/early October 2019.

The big unknown that we have about this particular virus is whether or not asymptomatic transmission is a large driver of infections. SARS-CoV-2 spreads so effectively because it is highly infectious just prior to the onset of symptoms. However, if the Andes strain mostly spreads after the onset of symptoms, we can effectively break the chains of transmission through quarantine, similar to how the original SARS outbreak was brought under control.
 
willrod1989 said:
To be fair, the media and public health authorities kept saying that the risk to the general public was low at the beginning of each of those outbreaks, especially the COVID-19 pandemic. That is usually the standard line to keep the public from panicking while public health authorities try to buy time and figure out what is going on.

The COVID-19 pandemic was definitely in a category of its own when it comes to an incompetent response. The PRC government did everything they could to hide the original outbreak for weeks. Based on some retrospective modeling of the pandemic that I have seen, it is probable that the virus was already present in humans as early as late September/early October 2019.

The big unknown that we have about this particular virus is whether or not asymptomatic transmission is a large driver of infections. SARS-CoV-2 spreads so effectively because it is highly infectious just prior to the onset of symptoms. However, if the Andes strain mostly spreads after the onset of symptoms, we can effectively break the chains of transmission through quarantine, similar to how the original SARS outbreak was brought under control.
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The differences in transmission, the ease of transmission, incubation period, and then lethality. As well as how populations respond to any viral outbreak.
All ensure that every viral outbreak is different.

My concern is there is a domestic hantavirus already endemic in the South west. There were 38 cases in the US in 2025. It does not transmit human to human, and I don’t believe it is dangerous on the lungs.
Officials will have to be proactive to keep these two virus’s separate in the public’s mind.

There were a lot of stupid and possible criminal things done in managing Covid.
Public trust is low,
Dissemination of accurate information critical.
They need to drop the vaccine angle for now. That is a poison pill which will only create more distrust.
 
Publius said:
My concern is there is a domestic hantavirus already endemic in the South west. There were 38 cases in the US in 2025. It does not transmit human to human, and I don’t believe it is dangerous on the lungs.
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All New World hantaviruses have the potential to cause Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS). Old World hantaviruses can cause another illness called Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome (HFRS). HPS is usually rarer than HFRS but tends to be deadlier.
 
There are now three new suspected cases of the Andes hantavirus: one in Alicante, Spain; one in the remote island of Tristan da Cunha; and one person who became symptomatic on a repatriation flight to France. The case in Alicante is particularly important as the patient had a brief encounter on a KLM flight with a known patient who has since passed away from hantavirus pulmonary syndrome.

Additionally, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) is concerned that people might be infectious before they show symptoms. While this has not been confirmed, it is definitely a serious development. I continue to urge the public to keep updated with this situation and, as always, prepare for the possibility of a pandemic caused by a respiratory agent. Personally, I have always kept a good supply of N-95 respirators to protect myself and my family. While supplies of respirators got low during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, I had just enough on hand to get through the worst of it.
 
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