Hantavirus: Please Don't Worry About It- By Hayden Budofsky

        In the midst of the Coronavirus Pandemic that has swept across the globe within a matter of weeks, the last thing you would want to hear about is of another virus. Yet mother nature seems not to care about the insignificant worries and fickle troubles of human civilization, because around a week ago, the world was introduced to a new "threat," the hantavirus.
        A man from the Yunnan Provence in China reportedly died after catching hantavirus when traveling to the far-eastern province of Shandong. It was not immediately known he had caught this disease, and only when screened after his death did doctors figure it out. All thirty-two people on the bus that he had traveled on were tested for the virus, and the results were unclear. The name of the man and cause of death was not reported, as the Chinese government wanted to keep the incident as low-profile as possible. So is this another Coronavirus-like situation, or is it just a fluke? From all experts who know and have learned about this virus, it seems to be the latter.
       Each strain of the hantavirus pathogen can be linked with a species of rodents such as mice or rats. The disease is passed on through airborne transmission when particles from an animal's feces, urine, saliva come in contact with a human, or if the patient is bitten in some instances. "New World" strains of this virus can cause hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS), and strains found in Asia or Europe cause hemorrhagic fever or renal syndrome (HFRS). In both versions, the virus infects the respiratory system and can get progressively worse if not immediately treated. In many aspects, it is very similar to coronavirus except for the way it is spread. It is impossible for hantavirus to spread from human to human, only animal to human. This is why no one in the man's general vicinity was infected and why the virus has never in history, been able to cause pandemics of massive proportions. 
      So should we as Americans be worried? In short, no. This virus is extremely rare and can seldom be spread between humans. Although it is in most instances, fatal, the world should not be concerned about another pandemic. Rather, we should focus on the situation at hand and make sure that we do our part to stay healthy in these troubling times.

Links:
https://www.newsweek.com/what-hantavirus-man-china-tests-positive-after-dying-infection-spread-rodents-1493924
https://www.cdc.gov/hantavirus/index.html