Even before the coronavirus outbreak and lockdown is not looking to stop anytime soon, a number of other diseases have already started spreading like fire in many parts of the world. Cases of Swine Flu and Bird flu have seen a steep spike in a lot of different parts of the world. But the newest and the most flabbergasting case is that of a new virus known as ‘hantavirus’ that seems to have claimed the life of a Chinese man in his early 30s. It is being called the new China virus, and people are already going crazy as to what it is.

What is Hantavirus?

This so called ‘newest China Virus’ isn’t actually so new. It may be new to you, but there is nothing new about this virus. Even though hantavirus became a top trend some days ago on twitter, it is nothing like the COVID-19 novel coronavirus epidemic.

The hantavirus family is known to spread from different kinds of rodents. It causes a number of diseases in people, some of whom are- hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) and haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS).

The virus usually gets transmitted from a rodent to a human only if they come in close contact with it. The contact can either be with rodent urine or their fecal matter. It can also be transmitted if a human being accidentally gets bitten by a rodent and the rodent’s saliva comes in contact with the human. The most common way of getting infected is by breathing in the virus.

What are Its Symptoms?

Since this China Virus causes more than one disease, we take a look at each and every disease it causes. That way we can have a better knowledge of its symptoms. In case of HRS, the symptoms range from fever, fatigue and aching muscles to shortness of breath, abdominal issues, dizziness, headaches and chills down one’s whole body. According to the CDC(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) of United States, this disease should never be left untreated. It has a mortality rate of 38%

In case of HFRS, one will find the initial symptoms to be the same. But as the disease progresses, things become really bad. In later stages, the symptoms are low blood pressure, acute shock, vascular leakage, and acute kidney failure.

Can Hantavirus Have Human to Human Transmission?

The human to human transmission possibility of this 21 specie China virus is extremely rare. But again, that depends on the disease. In case of HRS, there is no chance that it will be transmitted from one person to the another. While in case of HFRS, the chances of human to human transmission is very rare. To prevent any outbreak of this virus, the best thing to do is to keep the rodent population under control.

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