The World’s Reaction to Hantavirus Is Tinged by Echoes of Something Else: COVID
Health experts say the general public risk is low as nine confirmed and two suspected cases fuel anxiety and online speculation.
- A rare hantavirus outbreak aboard a cruise ship resulted in three deaths, with nine confirmed and two suspected cases identified.
- In a post-COVID-19 world, experts note that trust in institutions—government, media, and science—has diminished, leaving the public susceptible to heightened fear during health crises.
- When passengers disembarked on the Spanish island of Tenerife, residents like Samantha Aguero expressed concern, stating they do not feel "100% security measures" are in place.
- Michele Gelfand, professor at the Stanford Graduate School, says without trust in institutions, people rely more on rumor and emotion, allowing fear to override factual risk assessment.
- While outbreaks of hantavirus have occurred historically in South American countries like Chile, current societal anxiety reflects a broader erosion of confidence in scientific guidance, says Elisa Jayne Bienenstock.
31 Articles
31 Articles
Hantavirus fears spark COVID flashbacks, but experts say there’s one major difference
Concerns about rising hantavirus cases has Americans reflecting on the coronavirus pandemic.Although COVID-19 began with a foreign strain and spread rapidly around the world, experts say it’s not likely that hantavirus will behave the same way.The rare Andes virus, which was linked to the MV Hondius cruise ship outbreak, is the only known hantavirus strain that has the capability to spread from person to person, usually through prolonged close c…
COVID's impact lingers, influencing world's response to hantavirus
Recently, a rare hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship sparked fears of another pandemic. Despite reassurances of low risk, the fear highlights a deeper issue: There's been an erosion of trust.
The long-term sequelae of the COVID-19 even years after it was declared that the pandemic ended are dispersed in the way we live today: work from home, for some to use mouth covers is their new normality, the hand sanitizer remains present. However, other expansive waves are not so evident. They are the ones we carry within: the mourning for lost loved ones, chronic health conditions, the feeling of interrupted lives. And in recent days, another…
World's reaction to hantavirus tinged by echoes of something else: COVID
The coronavirus pandemic's impact lingers, influencing our lives in both obvious and subtle ways. Work-from-home jobs, mask-wearing and hand sanitizers are now common. Some effects are less visible, like grief, chronic health conditions and interrupted lives.
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