Online Reporter
Dr Tendai Zuze
Health Matters
RECENTLY there has been renewed public interest around hantavirus after reports of cases linked to a cruise ship outbreak.
Many people are comparing it to Covid-19, but the two diseases are actually very different.
Hantavirus is a virus mainly spread by rodents such as rats and mice.
People usually become infected after breathing in tiny particles from rodent urine, saliva, or droppings.
This can happen when cleaning dusty storerooms, barns, warehouses, or poorly ventilated places with rodent infestations.
Unlike Covid-19, hantavirus does not usually spread easily from person to person.
Most types do not spread between humans at all.
This is one of the biggest differences between hantavirus and Covid-19.
Covid-19 spread very easily through coughing, sneezing, and close contact, allowing it to become a worldwide pandemic.
Hantavirus is much harder to spread and is therefore far less likely to cause a global outbreak.
The symptoms of hantavirus can at first look similar to flu or Covid-19.
A person may develop fever, headache, body pains, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain.
As the illness becomes more severe, some patients develop coughing and serious breathing difficulties due to fluid collecting in the lungs.
One worrying thing about hantavirus is that it can have a high fatality rate in severe cases, especially some forms found in the Americas.
In certain outbreaks, around 30 percent to 50 percent of severely affected patients may die.
Covid-19 generally had a much lower fatality rate overall, but because it spread so easily across the world, it caused many more deaths globally.
There is currently no specific cure for hantavirus.
Treatment mainly involves supportive hospital care, oxygen, and intensive care if severe breathing problems develop.
Early medical attention improves the chances of survival.
Should you be worried?
At the moment, there is no major reason for panic.
Zimbabwe has rodents like most countries, so isolated infections are theoretically possible, but hantavirus has not been a major public health problem locally.
The current concern internationally is mainly linked to certain strains in parts of South America.
The important thing is simply to maintain good hygiene and rodent control. Homes and food storage areas should be kept clean, holes where rodents enter should be sealed, and people should be careful when cleaning dusty places where rats or mice may have been living.
It is also wise to open windows and improve ventilation before sweeping closed rooms or storerooms.
In simple terms, hantavirus is more dangerous to the individual person who gets seriously infected, but it spreads far less easily than Covid-19.
For most people in Zimbabwe, common illnesses like flu, tuberculosis, malaria, hypertension, and diabetes remain much bigger day to day health concerns.
It seems, therefore, that there is currently no need for fear or panic.
For more insights on hantavirus, contact [email protected]
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