A World Health Organization epidemiologist said Thursday that the hantavirus outbreak is not the next COVID-19 pandemic [1].
The statement aims to prevent public panic by distinguishing the current hantavirus transmission patterns from the highly infectious nature of SARS-CoV-2. Because the two viruses operate differently, health officials believe the risk of a global surge is minimal.
Speaking at a news conference in Geneva, Switzerland, the WHO expert said that the current situation does not mirror the early stages of the 2020 pandemic [1]. The epidemiologist said that hantavirus is less transmissible than the coronavirus that caused COVID-19 [2].
"This is not SARS-CoV-2," the WHO epidemiologist said [1].
The concerns follow a hantavirus outbreak linked to a cruise ship. Reports indicate that three patients were evacuated from the vessel [4]. Despite the deaths onboard, the WHO said that the virus does not possess the characteristics necessary to trigger a worldwide health emergency [3].
"The hantavirus outbreak is not the next COVID pandemic," the expert said [2].
Public health officials are monitoring the situation to ensure containment. The WHO epidemiologist said that the organization does not expect the virus to become a global pandemic [3]. The focus remains on managing the specific cluster of cases rather than preparing for a general population surge, a stark contrast to the response during the COVID-19 era.
"We do not expect it to become a global pandemic," the expert said [3].
“"This is not SARS-CoV-2."”
This clarification from the WHO is designed to manage the 'infodemic' effect, where any new viral outbreak is immediately compared to COVID-19. By emphasizing the lower transmissibility of hantavirus, the WHO is signaling that while the cruise ship cases are severe, the biological mechanism of the virus prevents the kind of rapid, community-wide spread that characterizes a global pandemic.
