You may have heard of the hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship from your Instagram or TikTok feeds. Most of us immediately think of COVID-19 upending our daily lives for three years.
In these videos, hantavirus is described as having a high mortality rate of over 30%, and our correlation between hantavirus and Coronavirus leads many to believe that it is highly contagious. In reality, much of this information is the result of exaggerations by creators seeking higher engagement on their videos. The comments clearly reflect that the engagement bait is working, with many even calling to “burn the ship.” In the midst of all of this, reality becomes murky. So what’s true and what isn’t?
First of all, hantavirus is real. It is a disease that originates in rodents and spreads to humans through contact with urine or droppings. It is also true that hantavirus does not have a known cure, and its mortality rate can range from 30-40%. So that seems to settle it: we should be terrified of hantavirus.
Well, not quite. Hantavirus is really rare, with the United States only having anywhere from twenty to fifty cases per year. Also, most cases of hantavirus do not transmit person-to-person. There is only one well-known strain of the virus, Andes Hantavirus, that can spread between humans. Even still, Andes Hantavirus needs very specific conditions to spread amongst people. Unlike Coronavirus, hantavirus is not an airborne disease. Hantavirus can only be spread through saliva or mucus and requires prolonged or repeated close contact with an infected person.
“In the future, we need to be mindful about the content with which we engage, and we should slow down and find out what is really happening.”
HANRU LI ’29
It just so happens that a tight cruise ship on a long journey meets those criteria, and is one of the few environments where a hantavirus outbreak can occur. Outside of the cruise ship, though, it is extremely unlikely that a hantavirus outbreak could occur, and it is almost impossible that it even comes close to the scale of the Coronavirus.
The paranoia of another pandemic and fear-mongering by creators, whether intentional or not, has had many people commenting on or liking videos related to hantavirus. This pushes these videos further, creating a dangerous snowball effect of misinformation. It is important to remember that what we see on our screens may not be factual or could be presented misleadingly. With social media, the spread of alarming misinformation often outpaces the truth.
In the future, we need to be mindful about the content with which we engage, and we should slow down and find out what is really happening.