Is Hantavirus the Next COVID?

No, hantavirus (are hantaviruses) are not considered the “next COVID” and are highly unlikely to cause a global pandemic.

This is fortunate as they have a very high mortality (upto 40%, compared to 2% for COVID).

While they cause severe diseases, they differ fundamentally from SARS-CoV-2 in transmission and spread.

Why ‘hanta’? 

‘Hanta’ in hantavirus refers to the Hantaan River in South Korea, where the Hantaan virus (the prototype of the Hantaviridae family) was first isolated in 1978.

Here is the breakdown of why hantavirus is not likely to be the next COVID-19:

1. Transmission Mechanism

• COVID-19: Highly contagious, spreading easily from person to person through respiratory droplets in the air.
• Hantavirus:
  • Prrimarily transmitted to humans through inhalation of aerosolised virus from rodent urine, faeces, or saliva.
  • Human-to-Human Spread: Human-to-human transmission is extremely rare. While some strains in South America have shown limited person-to-person spread, it is not the typical method of infection.

2. Risk Level and Scale

• Not a New Disease: Hantaviruses have been known since the 1950s (identified during the Korean War) and are not a new phenomenon.
• Sporadic, Not Pandemic: Cases are usually isolated (endemic), often occurring in people who have had direct contact with rodents or dusty, infested areas.
• Not an International Threat: The World Health Organization (WHO) does not generally classify hantavirus cases as outbreaks of international concern.

3. Severity

While hantaviruses are not likely to cause a pandemic, they are extremely serious. They can cause Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS) or Haemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome (HFRS), with mortality rates for certain strains reaching as high as 40%.

They are examples of Viral Haemorrhagic Fevers (VHFs). These are severe illnesses caused by various families of viruses (others include Ebola, Lassa, Marburg).

VHFs damage the endothelium (inside of) small blood vessels (called a microangiopathy, or MAHA). This leads to bleeding, organ failure, and a high mortality rate.

Context on Recent Headlines

Reports of hantavirus often spike when a case is reported in the media, particularly if it originates in Asia or the Americas, but these are almost always sporadic, localised events rather than the start of a pandemic.

For example

On 4th May 2026, it was reported three passengers on a cruise ship in the Atlantic Ocean had died after a suspected hantavirus outbreak, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

The outbreak was reported on the polar cruise ship MV Hondius, which was travelling between Argentina and Cape Verde.

The WHO said at least two cases of hantavirus had been confirmed, with one patient in intensive care in a South African hospital. Two of those who died were a couple from the Netherlands.

In summary

Hantaviruses are serious, rare, usually rodent-borne diseases, but they lack the, person-to-person communicability required to become a pandemic on the scale of COVID-19.

Other resource

What is Hantavirus – When to Worry