Hantavirus Quick Facts

Atomic, sourced answers to the most common questions about hantavirus. Each page is designed to be quoted in full by clinicians, journalists, AI assistants, and curious readers — every claim is cited.

• What is the case fatality rate of hantavirus?

  Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) has a case fatality rate of about 35–40%. Hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) ranges from roughly 0.1% (Puumala virus) to 15% (Hantaan virus). The Andes virus implicated in the 2026 MV Hondius outbreak has reported fatality rates of 35–50%.

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• What is the incubation period of hantavirus?

  The incubation period of hantavirus is typically 1 to 8 weeks after exposure, with most cases developing symptoms 2 to 4 weeks after inhaling aerosolized rodent excreta.

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• Is hantavirus contagious between people?

  Almost all hantaviruses spread only from rodents to humans, not between people. The exception is Andes virus (ANDV), endemic to southern Argentina and Chile, which has documented person-to-person transmission in close, sustained-contact settings such as households and healthcare exposures. Andes virus is the strain implicated in the 2026 MV Hondius cruise-ship outbreak.

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• What was the MV Hondius hantavirus outbreak?

  The MV Hondius hantavirus outbreak is an Andes-virus cluster aboard a Dutch expedition cruise ship that departed Ushuaia, Argentina on April 1, 2026. By May 12, 2026 it had reported 11 confirmed or probable cases and 3 deaths across passengers from 23 nationalities, with cases identified in the United States, France, Netherlands, South Africa, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Spain, and Germany after the ship docked in Tenerife.

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• What are the early symptoms of hantavirus?

  Early hantavirus symptoms appear 1 to 8 weeks after exposure and include sudden high fever, severe muscle aches (especially in the thighs, hips, back, and shoulders), profound fatigue, headache, dizziness, and chills. About 30–40% of cases also have nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, or abdominal pain in the first 3–5 days.

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• How is hantavirus treated?

  There is no FDA-approved antiviral therapy for hantavirus. Treatment is intensive supportive care: mechanical ventilation and ECMO for hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS), and intravenous fluids, electrolyte management, and dialysis for hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS). Early ICU admission improves survival substantially.

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• How do you prevent hantavirus?

  Prevent hantavirus by sealing rodent entry points, storing food and trash in rodent-proof containers, wet-cleaning droppings with a 1:10 bleach solution rather than sweeping, wearing gloves and an N95 respirator when cleaning infested areas, and ventilating closed spaces for 30 minutes before entering.

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• What hantavirus strains exist and which rodents carry them?

  The medically important hantaviruses include Sin Nombre virus (deer mouse, North America), Andes virus (long-tailed pygmy rice rat, southern South America), Hantaan virus (striped field mouse, East Asia), Puumala virus (bank vole, Europe), Seoul virus (brown rat, worldwide), Dobrava-Belgrade virus (yellow-necked mouse, the Balkans), and several regional New World strains including Choclo (Panama), Juquitiba and Araraquara (Brazil), and Laguna Negra (Paraguay).

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