After the pandemic’s horrors, the world reacts, fearfully, to any news of respiratory virus outbreak, anywhere. Recent outbreak of a Hantavirus infection, in the closed confines of a cruise ship, sailing from Argentina to Europe, has triggered global alarm – including in India. “Are we at risk?”
The answer is clear, and comforting. Most Hanta strains do not exhibit propensity for human-to-human transmission. However, the Andes strain, native to Argentina and Columbia, has been known to do so. That strain infected the ship’s passengers. However, Andes strain hasn’t led to largescale epidemics in the past. Its spread was limited locally, despite high virulence.