Dr. Marc Siegel said hantavirus is "no comparison" to COVID-19, arguing the current scare does not point to a virus that is mutating or spreading efficiently among humans.
The key difference, he said, is transmission: COVID is airborne and mutates frequently, while hantavirus is mainly spread through rodent secretions and is very difficult to pass on.
The Andes virus tied to the MV Hondius outbreak is the only known hantavirus strain with person-to-person spread, and Siegel said that usually requires prolonged close contact in confined settings such as a ship.
Genetic stability and the lack of second-generation spread so far suggest the outbreak reflects close quarters rather than a changed virus, even as warming temperatures may be shifting rodent ranges.
Siegel said a better pandemic comparison is bird flu, adding that most infectious-disease specialists remain more concerned about influenza because it already spreads human to human and mutates constantly.
With a 50% fatality rate, why are experts dismissing hantavirus as the next pandemic threat?
As climate change expands hantavirus territory, will experimental vaccines be ready to prevent a deadlier pandemic?