Amid coronavirus strain globally, Hantavirus now emerges
Before the coronavirus situation could be brought under control, a new virus has surfaced in China’s Yunnan Province with a man testing positive for the hantavirus.
Many parallels have been drawn between the coronavirus and the MEV-1 virus from the 2011 Hollywood movie Contagion. In the movie, which has garnered a steep spike in its viewership since the turn of this year, one of the first deaths happens in a bus.
In eerily similar circumstances, the man who tested positive for hantavirus died while on a bus on his way to work.
Other commuters on the bus were also tested for the virus.
Scientifically speaking, hantaviruses are spread by rodents and can manifest in several different ways in human beings- Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS) and Haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) are the two most likely candidates.
Hantavirus is not, so far, shown to transmit in a manner similar to coronavirus. People can contract the disease only when they come in contact with rodent urine, faeces or saliva. It could also be transmitted through a rodent bite.
Friendly advice- try not to get caught up in the rat race– it’s infectious.
(Image syndicated via Reuters)