Health expert explores hantavirus pandemic likelihood after cruise ship passengers dock in WA
A health expert from Curtin University has warned that misinformation on social media about a recent hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship could be dangerous.
International health professor Jaya Dantas said online chatter linking the outbreak to the Covid-19 outbreak could cause unnecessary fear and anxiety.
Online chat linked the two viruses but Professor Dantas said this was not helpful.
“Misinformation spreads very easily and can cause unnecessary fear or anxiety,” he said.
Six people who arrived in WA two weeks ago after disembarking from a cruise ship infected with hantavirus have tested negative for the virus.
Four Australian citizens, one permanent resident and one New Zealander will be isolated at the Bullsbrook quarantine center for at least 42 days and will only be retested if they develop symptoms.
“(The Bullsbrook group) did not land at the airport, they went to the Air Force base, which is very close to the biosafety facility. There was no contact with the population and those in contact will have full personal protective equipment,” Professor Dantas said.
“Most passengers do not show any symptoms.”
Professor Dantas said this showed that, unlike Covid-19, hantavirus had a low epidemic risk.
“The WHO recommends a 42-day quarantine if you are infected but they are not infected,” he said.
“This has been going on since April, so it has already been five weeks; if further positive cases of the virus emerge, they should also appear this week.
“(Australia) has very good prevention, biosecurity and surveillance measures. We’ve had PCR testing and serology testing, the two tests that have been done, across Australia, so we’re really on top of things.”
Hantavirus is not a common virus and is typically carried by infected rats through saliva and feces.
11 of the 170 passengers on the affected cruise ship contracted the Andean virus strain, allegedly while they went bird watching in Argentina and were exposed to infected rodents. Three deaths were reported on board.
Symptoms; may include feeling unwell, fever, general pain, and possible breathing difficulties. The mortality rate is low because deaths occur only in extreme cases where the lungs or kidney are infected.
The incubation period is usually between four and six weeks, and the World Health Organization recommends a 42-day isolation period for those who test positive.
Professor Dantas said the virus was not necessarily transmitted between people on the ship.
“The disease did not spread to everyone, even though they were in close contact with each other during the trip,” he said.
“It is important to track all 170 passengers and where they went, as some of them returned to their home countries without realizing the outbreak. We need to see if anyone else develops symptoms.”
“As of now, there are only 11 people, but we are not sure if the virus is transmitted between people.”
Professor Dantas said the situation was very different from Covid.
“It occurs when exposed to environments contaminated by infected rodents and can spread like all viral infections. However, unlike Covid, spread from person to person is very rare,” he said.
“In the (COVID) pandemic, not only did the virus spread at an unprecedented rate, it also mutated. We had a really brutal delta strain, and then the omicron came along; it was mutating really quickly.”
Professor Dantas said managing global landfills was important to reduce the risk of future epidemics.
“A lot of countries don’t have these mass rodent outbreaks, so we really need to monitor this and our landfill management,” he said.
