IMA Head of Medical and Scientific Affairs Dr. Ryan Cole joined The National News Desk to address the recent wave of hantavirus headlines following a small number of cases linked to an expedition cruise. Dr. Cole explains that hantavirus is carried through rodent droppings, urine, and saliva, is transmitted by inhaling contaminated dust in enclosed environments, and has produced fewer than 1,000 cases in the U.S. over the past 30 years.
The conversation covers the distinction between the Andes strain, which can spread person to person in rare cases, and the strains found in the United States, which do not. Dr. Cole walks through the symptoms to watch for, notes that antivirals and supportive care lead to good outcomes when caught early, and offers a clear bottom line: this is not a virus that requires anyone to restructure their daily life.
Check out these related resources from IMA below, followed by the full segment transcript.
Transcript
Jan Jeffcoat: Hantavirus is dominating some news headlines after a small number of cases were reported among passengers connected to an expedition cruise. For most folks, as we know, the risk does remain low, but the infection has offered a useful moment to understand how these viruses spread and what symptoms you should watch out for. Joining us now is Dr. Ryan Cole, Head of Medical and Scientific Affairs at the Independent Medical Alliance and Senior Fellow in Pathology. I think it’s important, Dr. Cole, good morning to you, to reiterate what the CDC has already stated, and that is this is not COVID, this is not a moment of panic. So let’s start off with that first. What is hantavirus and how does it typically spread?
Dr. Ryan Cole: Good morning, Jan. And that’s such a great point that caution and wisdom is what should prevail here. It’s a rare viral family that is carried by feces of rodents, or in their urine or saliva, and it’s really confined to a few areas of the world. So it is not very common to come across it. It can cause a severe hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, but again, to your point, it is very rare. The exposure to it in America, we’ve had fewer than a thousand cases in the last 30 years. That’s how rare it is.
Jan Jeffcoat: That’s the most non-existent, if you ask me. A thousand in the past 30 years, and this is what’s dominating headlines now and sort of bringing this fear. I feel like sometimes it’s fear-mongering, but what has been brought up in this case particularly is the Andes strain. What should folks understand about that strain and how rare it is when you talk about person-to-person spread?
Dr. Ryan Cole: That’s a great point. Ironically, I was just in the Andes a few weeks ago. Was I worried about it? Of course not. You just don’t go to areas that are dirty and low hygiene. The Andes strain, the concern is it can spread in rare cases from human to human. However, the cases we have in America are a different strain. Some people will remember the outbreak in the 1990s in the Four Corners region of the United States. The virus itself was originally discovered in Korea in the 1970s, so there are sub-strains, and some of them are more aggressive than others. The Andes one can be dangerous to those who get infected with it, but to your point, thousands of children per day around the world die from TB or malaria, and yet when the news finds something novel, they like to hype it. At the end of the day, data requires calm.
Jan Jeffcoat: What symptoms should someone take seriously if they feel like they’ve had some possible exposure, without assuming every flu-like illness is hantavirus?
Dr. Ryan Cole: Good point, because only about one in maybe 10 million cases would be hantavirus. Flu is obviously more common. But muscle fatigue, aches, which progress to some nausea, GI upset, and then from there, filling of the lungs with fluid. That’s when the case becomes more serious, and that’s when one would want to get medical attention quickly in order to treat those symptoms.
Jan Jeffcoat: And you said the treatment is what? What’s the course of treatment here?
Dr. Ryan Cole: The course of treatment is generally supportive. Are there some of the drugs that we used during COVID that can prevent replication of the virus? Absolutely. So there are antivirals. The individuals who get very good medical care generally have good outcomes. The unfortunate deaths that occurred on the cruise ship, the MS Hondius, those were elderly individuals, perhaps with risk factors that haven’t been revealed yet. So the majority of people will do fine. It does have a fairly high mortality rate if not treated, but again, to your point, most viruses are common colds or flu, or even some of the lingering COVID variants out there. Most people, when they get a flu or a cold, don’t need to worry.
Jan Jeffcoat: So if it doesn’t spread person to person, if it’s not likely for it to spread person to person, like you said, it’s rare, then are you getting it from food you’re eating because of rat droppings that could possibly be contaminated, or something?
Dr. Ryan Cole: You bring up a great point. It’s more dust that’s kicked up in an environment that’s enclosed, or a low-hygiene environment if there’s an infestation of rats or mice. A couple of other rodents in the Andes can carry it as well. So it’s basically don’t be in a dirty, dusty, enclosed environment where there’s been a rodent infestation.
Jan Jeffcoat: Is it ingested? So you’re literally breathing it in?
Dr. Ryan Cole: You’re literally breathing it in, correct.
Jan Jeffcoat: All right. So very quickly, what’s the most practical takeaway for viewers who want to be informed and not alarmed?
Dr. Ryan Cole: The most practical takeaway is don’t worry. People die from lightning strikes and sharks, and we don’t restructure our lives for that. You don’t need to restructure your life for a rare outbreak that’s being managed well by public health right now.
Jan Jeffcoat: I think the greatest takeaway for me is 1,000 cases in 30 years here in the U.S. And for more information, visit imahealth.org. Dr. Ryan Cole, pleasure talking with you this morning. Thanks for joining us.
Dr. Ryan Cole: Thank you, Jan. Have a lovely day.
