Hantavirus has become a huge topic of conversation in the last couple of months following the news of diagnoses around the world. But really, what is it? And why hasn’t it spread around the world as quickly as COVID did? Today’s article is the result of my own research into this disease, along with extra information I gained from delving deeper into the topic of Hantavirus.
What is Hantavirus?
Hantaviruses are a group of viruses carried by and infecting rodents (rats, mice, etc.). However, on occasion, they can be transmitted to humans and, rarely, spread amongst humans (1). They are transmitted to humans through contact with rodents’ bodily fluids. This includes saliva, urine, and droppings. This might be working in areas with poorly ventilated spaces, that are rodent-infested, or careers in farming and forestry. Hantaviruses can also be transmitted to humans through a scratch or bite from a rodent, but this is incredibly rare (3). Generally, when humans are affected, hantaviruses cause mild illness (2), but they can result in very serious, severe illness and sometimes even death. In Europe and Asia, Hantaviruses usually cause a syndrome called Haemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome (HFRS), which is a syndrome that affects your blood vessels and kidneys. In North, Central and South America, Hantaviruses present as Hantavirus Cardiopulmonary Syndrome (HCPS), which is a severe lung-related disease (1). According to statistics and records (1), there are approximately 10,000 – 100,000 Hantavirus infections worldwide, with Asia and Europe having the highest incidence rate. Fatality varies greatly from roughly 1-15% in Asia and Europe, to almost up to 50% in the Americas (1). Prior to the most recent times, the only place where person-to-person transmission occurred within the Andes, and this was through the spread of the Andes virus variation (1-4).
Signs and Symptoms
As mentioned above, there are different manifestations of hantavirus, depending on the strain that you are infected with. They produce two different syndromes that I will discuss separately.
Haemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome (HFRS)
This is a very severe and often deadly syndrome which affects the kidneys. Symptoms of this condition often start 1-2 weeks after you have been infected. In the early stages of this disease, symptoms could be (3,6,7):
- Severe headaches
- Back and abdominal pain
- Fever
- Chills
- Nausea
- Blurred Vision
Later symptoms of infection could be (3,6,7):
- Face flushing
- Eye redness
- Rash
- Low blood pressure
- Swelling in arms and legs
- Abdominal/flank pain
The symptoms can often present in phases, but really, you should be seeking help from a doctor before it starts to get to the face flushing, eye redness stage, as these are not good signs.
Hantavirus Cardiopulmonary Syndrome (HCPS)
This is a lung-related disease, with symptoms that begin 1-8 weeks after you’ve been infected. Symptoms are similar to most viruses, like (3,4) –
- Fatigue and tiredness
- Fever
- Muscles aches
- Headache
- Chills
- Dizziness
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Diarrhoea
When the infection has been present for a few days to weeks, you can also develop symptoms like:
- Coughing
- Chest tightness or pain
- Difficulty breathing
This syndrome can result in death as the disease can result in fluid building up in the lungs, making it difficult to deliver oxygen to the body (5). It is important to take symptoms seriously if they are not improving. The syndrome is, fortunately, not likely to be seen in England or Europe.
Testing
Trying to diagnose someone with Hantavirus is sometimes difficult because the symptoms don’t show up straight away, so oftentimes, it is difficult to pick up the disease within the first 3 days after a person is infected. For this reason, a lot of Hantavirus diagnoses come within 3 days of the first symptom. The only way to truly diagnose someone with Hantavirus is through lab testing, which happens following blood tests.
Treatment
There is no licensed method of treatment or vaccine for Hantavirus, so treatment is tailored to the symptoms being shown by patients when they present to healthcare professionals.
So, to answer the question right at the beginning, how come Hantavirus didn’t spread quickly like COVID? It’s because the virus is only transmitted from the bodily fluids of rodents, and not from person-to-person in the air, so it is a LOT more contained and limited in spread. Hope you enjoyed the article. Subscribe to always be up to date on new articles!
References:
- World Health Organization. Hantavirus [Internet]. Geneva: WHO; 2026 [cited 2026 Jun 2]. Available from: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/hantavirus
- NHS. Hantavirus [Internet]. London: NHS; 2026 [cited 2026 Jun 2]. Available from: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/hantavirus/
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About hantavirus [Internet]. Atlanta: CDC; 2024 [cited 2026 Jun 2]. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/hantavirus/about/index.html
- Bi Z, Formenty PBH, Roth CE. Hantavirus infection: a review and global update. J Infect Dev Ctries. 2008;2(1):3–23. doi: 10.3855/jidc.317. Available from: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2880890/
- Mayo Clinic. Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome – symptoms and causes [Internet]. Rochester: Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research; 2025 [cited 2026 Jun 2]. Available from: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hantavirus-pulmonary-syndrome/symptoms-causes/syc-20351838
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Clinician brief: hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome [Internet]. Atlanta: CDC; 2024 [cited 2026 Jun 2]. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/hantavirus/hcp/clinical-overview/hfrs.html
- Rout P, Anjum F. Hemorrhagic fever renal syndrome. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2026 [updated 2023 Nov 5; cited 2026 Jun 2]. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK560660/
