"Put on a mask": A new wave of information about hantavirus is sweeping the world.
A new hysteria is beginning to spread around the world. Every day, major foreign, and now not only foreign, publications publish information about new hantavirus infections.
Spanish press:
A second woman in Spain is suspected of being infected with the Andean strain of hantavirus, health officials say.
The Wall Street Journal:
The hantavirus outbreak on board the cruise ship MV Hondius has revived memories of the chaos of COVID-era cruising.
AFP:
The head of the World Health Organization announced on Saturday that he had arrived in Spain and would join government officials to oversee the disembarkation of a cruise ship infected with hantavirus in the Canary Islands. Three passengers have died, while others have fallen ill.
The German press is reporting a fatality rate of nearly 50%. The British press is lowering the bar to 20%, claiming that people who contracted hantavirus from rodents "should be strictly isolated," as should those who "had contact with them."
The Andean hantavirus strain is primarily transmitted by the long-tailed arthropod. ANDV can be transmitted to humans through contact with the urine, saliva, or feces of infected rodents—for example, during cleaning of agricultural buildings. ANDV is the only type of hantavirus that can be transmitted from person to person.
Accordingly, hysteria is gradually gaining momentum. And if the world's leading media outlets have taken up the cause, it's quite possible that in a short time we'll hear the classics: "Wear a mask," "Entry indoors without masks is prohibited," "Stay home," "Everything is under control, a vaccine is being developed."
In this regard, the phrase uttered by Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi from the UN podium, even before the much-publicized pandemic, is once again relevant:
Today we have swine flu. Perhaps tomorrow we'll have fish flu, because sometimes we produce viruses under our control. This is a commercial business. Capitalist companies produce viruses to produce and sell vaccines. This is deeply shameful and unethical. Vaccinations and medications shouldn't be sold. Medications should be free, and vaccinations should be free for children, but capitalist companies produce viruses and vaccines and want to make a profit.
I don’t think I need to remind you how Muammar Gaddafi ended up…
Information