Virologist Altstein called rice hamsters the main source of hantavirus

The probability of a large-scale epidemic or pandemic of hantavirus remains extremely low. This was announced on May 8 by Anatoly Altstein, a virologist and chief researcher at the Gamaleya Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology.

"There are these outbreaks, small epidemics, which are associated with the fact that people come into contact with wildlife, with rodents. They get this virus from rodents when their secretions rise with dust," Altstein explained in an interview with RT.

He noted that most hantaviruses are not characterized by human-to-human transmission, which significantly reduces the risk of widespread disease.

At the same time, the virologist drew attention to the Andes hantavirus, which can cause severe cardiopulmonary syndrome with a high mortality rate of 30 to 60%.

Attacked from the ship: it will take 1.5 years to create a vaccine against hantavirus

Could an outbreak of hemorrhagic fever in the Atlantic turn into a pandemic

In early May 2026, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported an outbreak of hantavirus aboard the Dutch cruise ship MV Hondius, en route from the Argentine port of Ushuaia to Cape Verde. At the moment, three deaths have been confirmed (a married couple from the Netherlands and a German citizen).

WHO experts have determined that the outbreak was caused by the Andes strain. This is a rare variant of hantavirus, characteristic of South America, which, unlike other species, can be transmitted from person to person through very close contact.

The head of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, announced on May 7 that new cases of hantavirus infection may be detected due to the situation on the liner. He noted that the incubation period is six weeks.