Germ war

Hantavirus a nudge to test our pandemic readiness

A cruise ship has become the scene of a deadly virus outbreak, and everyone’s on edge. Is another pandemic starting? No. Hantaviruses – there are many types – mostly don’t spread human-to-human.

Also, unlike Covid virus, which was ‘novel’ or new, Hantaviruses have been around forever, sickening and killing humans across continents. That said, the virus strain that’s caused the MV Hondius outbreak is different.

It’s the ‘Andes strain’ that, according to WHO, shows “limited transmission capability between humans”. That’s how eight suspected cases – five confirmed – and three deaths have occurred. It’s also a far deadlier strain, capable of killing up to half of infected persons.

Any place with rodents – rats, mice – can have an outbreak, and India’s had some. Warehouse workers, who come in contact with rodent urine, droppings and saliva, and rodent catchers, like TN’s Irula tribe, are especially susceptible. As far as the ship outbreak with Andes strain is concerned, no case has been detected in India so far.

But since exposed persons may not show symptoms for up to six weeks, we should be on our guard. Contact tracing the ship’s passengers is the first line of defence. After that, it’s time to put our Covid learnings to use. Niti Aayog in 2024 said the first 100 days of an outbreak are most crucial.

We are still in those first few weeks. Is our epidemiological surveillance on, is the integrated health information platform active? And when are we planning to enact the proposed Public Health Emergency Management Act?

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