Should you be concerned about hantavirus?

From The Daily Article by The Denison Forum

May 8, 2026 · 6 min

About this episode

This episode discusses the hantavirus outbreak on the MV Hondius and its implications for public health.

Hantaviruses, named after a river in South Korea, are a family of more than twenty different viral species. Almost all are linked to infection by rodents, typically rats and mice, through dried urine and droppings. One strain, however, known as the Andes virus, is thought to spread by human-to-human transmission, although rarely. But this week, a cruise ship called the MV Hondius has made headlines because of another suspected hantavirus outbreak onboard that has killed three people so far and made several others very sick. Should you be worried? About Denison Forum and The Daily Article Today's Daily Article was written by Dr. Jim Denison and narrated by Chris Elkins. You can read this article on our website . You may also receive it in your inbox by subscribing to our newsletter . NOTE: Denison Forum is a fully donor-funded nonprofit ministry. To support our calling, please donate today .

People in this episode

Host: Chris Elkins

Topics covered

hantavirus
health concerns
rodent transmission
Andes virus
cruise ship outbreak

Keywords

hantavirus
Andes virus
rodents
MV Hondius
health outbreak
cruise ship
infection

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Denison Forum

Places: South Korea, MV Hondius