The Hantavirus has now struck America. While it was introduced to the world in the 1970s, there has been more recent attention towards it.
It was first discovered in 1978, where scientists found the cause of Korean hemorrhagic fevers in a field of mice. During the Korean war, more than 3,000 cases of Korean hemorrhagic fever were reported. The name “Hantavirus” comes from the Hantan river in South Korea where they found the field of mice.
Scientists then grew the virus in labs and discovered that Hantavirus belongs to the virus family Bynyaviridae. Hantavirus doesn’t have vectors, which means they aren’t spread by mosquitoes or ticks, rather they live in certain rodents.
Before 1993, Hantavirus was finally found in North America and South America, which scientists believed to be harmless at that time. In 1993, scientists were proven wrong. People who got infected developed serious breathing problems, as Hantavirus affects your lungs heavily.
Recently, Hantavirus has appeared and now has drawn attention. MV Hondius, a cruise ship, with close to 150 passengers and crew members, had an outbreak of this virus.
At least six people have tested positive and in those six people, three are deceased.
All of the 150 people have been sent back to their home countries and sent into quarantine. Passengers from Spain will be sent to a military hospital for a week, but it may vary as the situation grows worse. People returning to the United States will be given a choice to either quarantine at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha or at home for 42 days. Those who are returning to the United Kingdom will be watched over for 72 hours and then sent to a facility or home to quarantine for 42 days.
People all around the United States have also become worried, with Tiktoks spiralling about what they think the next year for Class of 2027 will look like. While some people think schools will shut down, others think otherwise.
“I don’t think it will get to the point where schools will shut down because it’s a virus from animals not from humans so it will be less likely for students at schools to get it,” freshman Ava Worley said.
Many people though have said there isn’t anything to worry about because Hantavirus has been around for so long.
“The virus has been around for a while but now that people are getting it again, everyone is scared,” Worley said.
The future holds what will become of the Hantavirus. Hopefully it is not a Corona Virus part 2.
