Arizona man Gilbert Zermeño, who contracted hantavirus 24 years ago and lost his mother and sister to the disease, has now spoken out and said news of the recent outbreak is hard to process.
On Friday, Zermeño told CBS News, “I imagine I feel the same way that every person who’s ever had hantavirus and is still dealing with the aftereffects,” adding, “It brings you back and it’s no less painful now than it was then. It’s hard. I’m not going to lie.”
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Hantaviruses are a group of rodent-borne viruses, primarily spread by contact with infected rodents through dried urine, feces, or saliva. Inhalation of contaminated rodent droppings is a common mode of transmission and is not easily transmitted between humans.
While hantaviruses are generally spread by contact with infected rodents, one variant, the Andean virus, is considered unusual because it can occasionally spread between humans, although such cases are rare. The probability of human-to-human capture is described as negligible.
Hantavirus can cause serious disease in humans involving the lungs and heart (hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome) or the kidneys and blood vessels (hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome). Symptoms usually appear between one and eight weeks after exposure.
Experts say there is no risk of a pandemic threat from hantavirus due to the low probability of human-to-human transmission. The risk to the American public is considered very low and not as scary as COVID-19 was.
Argentinian investigators suspect the Dutch couple may have first contracted the Andean virus during a bird-watching trip before boarding a cruise ship in Argentina. Officials are targeting Ushuaia, the country’s southernmost city, as a potential starting point.
Read also | 6 confirmed cases of hantavirus linked to cruise; Trump says situation ‘seems fine’
How Gilbert Zermeño contracted Hantavirus
The Arizona photojournalist recalled how he became infected, saying that in 2002, while cleaning the family home in Texas after the deaths of his mother and sister, he was exposed to rodent droppings and became infected, later spending several days in a Phoenix hospital.
Zermeño said his mother and sister were initially misdiagnosed and doctors said they both died of sepsis. However, they later discovered that it was a hantavirus. He added that the rarity of the disease complicated his own diagnosis and treatment, but with the help of family members in the medical community, he eventually received the correct diagnosis.
“Listen to your doctors and have a plan in case you feel like you’ve been exposed to hantavirus or someone who has had hantavirus,” Zermeño said. “The odds of catching it from person to person are slim to none.”
Read also | India Begins Hantavirus Surveillance After Global Epidemic
Zermeño’s account comes as health officials around the world monitor an outbreak of hantavirus linked to a Dutch-flagged cruise ship that has caused nine confirmed or suspected cases, including three deaths.
The photojournalist said that online misinformation about the disease has created a panic situation among some people, simply because of the word “virus”. He added: “But I’m just here to tell people, look, you need to do some research on this because it’s not as scary as COVID-19 was.”
Hantavir outbreak: What it is and how it spreads
Hantaviruses, named after a river in South Korea, refer to a group of related viruses rather than a single disease.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 20 species of hantaviruses are known. Most are spread by contact with infected rodents, especially rats and mice, through dried urine, droppings or saliva.
One variant, called the Andes virus, is considered unusual because it can occasionally spread between humans, although such cases are rare. South Africa’s health minister confirmed the strain had been detected in two passengers, a British man currently hospitalized in Johannesburg and a Dutch woman who later died.
Read also | This 2022 tweet ‘predicted’ end of Corona in 2023, Hantavirus outbreak in 2026
Andes virus is primarily reported in Argentina and Chile.
A notable outbreak occurred in Argentina in late 2018, when health officials linked several infections to a social gathering.
Hantavirus epidemic experts
Ann Lindstrand, the WHO representative in Cape Verde, told CBS Thursday that there is no risk of a pandemic-level threat because of the low probability of human-to-human transmission.
Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, acting director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said in a statement Wednesday that hantavirus “is not spread by asymptomatic people, transmission requires close contact, and the risk to the American public is very low.”
WHO warns 12 countries over confirmed hantavirus cases
According to the WHO, 12 countries are officially or indirectly involved in the response to the hantavirus outbreak. While some are involved directly due to passenger boarding or medical evacuation, others were alerted because their citizens were on board or passing through a layover. The countries WHO has warned are Canada, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States.
