Hanta-Hype: Turn it Off

One of the big international health stories this week involves a rare viral illness called hantavirus.

An outbreak has now been linked to a cruise ship departing from Argentina. At least 7 passengers became ill and three deaths have been reported.

What makes this outbreak unusual is the strain involved — the Andes strain of hantavirus — which some scientists believe could be transmitted human to human.

Hantavirus was first recognized in Korea, during the Korean War. The name comes from the river in Korea where it was discovered. It became well known after a deadly outbreak in the southwest US in New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado and Utah in 1993.

The illness usually begins with fever, severe muscle aches, fatigue, and headache but can rapidly progress to cough, shortness of breath, fluid in the lungs, and respiratory failure.

The mortality rate remains high — about 1 in 3, in severe hantavirus pulmonary syndrome cases.

The infection comes from exposure to infected rodents, especially inhaling particles from dried mouse droppings, urine, saliva or nesting material in places like cabins, sheds, barns or campsites.

There is currently no specific cure or vaccine. Treatment is mainly supportive intensive care.

This is actually something we learned about in medical school because it is a classic infectious disease board-exam diagnosis, especially involving camping or rodent exposure in the American Southwest. But in more than 30 years practicing medicine, I have personally never seen a case.

Here in North Carolina, hantavirus is extremely rare. Only one confirmed human case has ever been reported in the state — in Jackson County in 1995 — and the patient survived.

My advice is to turn off the news. Continue healthy habits (good sleep, exercise, fresh air, healthy whole foods) and not worry one second about Hantavirus. It is not going to become an epidemic. If they launch a vaccine, there is absolutely no reason to take it.

 There are far more common health problems we face that deserve our attention, such as high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, and other lifestyle diseases. Hantavirus is exciting and new, and the media loves to create hysteria over viruses because it sells advertising by increasing viewership, just like a hurricane increase viewership on the Weather Channel. Remember monkey pox, Zika virus, Marburg virus, Ebola, bird flu, SARS, MERS, and all the others that they created hysteria and then nothing happened. My advice is - don’t believe the hype.