Hantavirus fears spark COVID flashbacks, but experts say there’s one major difference

Concerns about rising hantavirus cases has Americans reflecting on the coronavirus pandemic.

Although COVID-19 began with a foreign strain and spread rapidly around the world, experts say it’s not likely that hantavirus will behave the same way.

The rare Andes virus, which was linked to the MV Hondius cruise ship outbreak, is the only known hantavirus strain that has the capability to spread from person to person, usually through prolonged close contact.

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Fox News senior medical analyst Dr. Marc Siegel spoke with Fox News Digital about the similarities and differences between hantavirus and coronavirus, noting that there is "no comparison."

"You could say the comparison ends at that they're both single-stranded RNA viruses," he said. "That's a comparison, but [hantavirus] has been unchanged basically for decades."

Coronavirus was different because it began to mutate, which started to cause "all kinds of problems," Siegel noted.

"We don't know why it started to mutate, but this one doesn't appear to have done that," he said. "And every day that goes by seems to show that theory is correct – the genetics of it is the same."

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"So, there's no comparison between these two viruses, other than that the single-stranded RNA viruses are both carried by animals."

Siegel added that COVID is an airborne virus, while hantavirus is mainly a secretion-borne virus, although it can be transmitted through dust and droppings in the air.

"It's not airborne ... in terms of respiratory droplets hanging in the air," he said. "It's very difficult to transmit."

While coronavirus "moved in the direction of humans in a significant way," hantavirus has not, except for "very rare" human-to-human transmission, according to the doctor.

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There have been hantavirus cases in the U.S. for decades, although they are "very rare," Siegel noted.

Certain factors of this disease spread are changing, including warming temperatures that are causing rodents to migrate north toward Buenos Aires, according to the doctor.

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The current outbreak stemming from the cruise ship did not help the cause, Siegel went on — but this spread doesn’t suggest that the virus has changed. Rather, it shows how close quarters on a ship are "very conducive" to spread, he said.

"Every day that goes by shows that ... we're not seeing a second generation of spread," he reiterated.

The better comparison to make is between hantavirus and bird flu, which is a predominantly animal-based virus that "occasionally infects humans," Siegel said.

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"There are billions of birds, and every year we talk about how it's going to cause a pandemic, but it would have to mutate significantly," he pointed out. "I feel that [hantavirus] would have to mutate significantly before it could go human to human in any significant way, because this is basically an animal virus … it's very comfortable inside a rodent host."

Siegel went on, "If you get this virus, you're in trouble, but getting this virus is very difficult."

Regarding fears that another global pandemic may be looming, Siegel said that just because one virus becomes widespread does not mean all viruses will.

"Coronaviruses are airborne anyway. This is not. And coronaviruses mutate a lot, and this does not," he said. "I'm much more concerned about flu than this. Flu can mutate all the time, and it's already going human to human all over the place, and it’s airborne."

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"Most infectious disease specialists are much more worried about flu than this, as deadly as this can be," he added.

"We're talking apples and oranges, and any comparison you make after that provokes fear."

Fox News Digital’s Melissa Rudy contributed to this report.