HOUSTON – As questions about hantavirus continue circulating online, KPRC 2 took some of the internet’s most common concerns to Dr. Sheldon Kaplan, who said he has worked in infectious diseases at Texas Children’s Hospital for 50 years.
“People are wondering, this hantavirus, is it going to become another pandemic?” reporter Deven Clarke asked Kaplan.
“I really don’t think people need to worry about this virus becoming a pandemic,” Kaplan said.
Kaplan said he also does not believe the virus will spread significantly beyond those directly exposed in the recent cruise ship outbreak tied to the Andes strain of hantavirus.
“I don’t think people need to worry about this virus … or really it spreading too far outside the people that were exposed on the cruise ship,” he said.
Kaplan explained there are different forms of hantavirus, including one already known in parts of the United States.
“I think this particular cruise ship outbreak is an isolated situation with a special virus that’s Andes version of the hantavirus,” Kaplan said. “We have a hantavirus version in the United States in the four corners area that’s associated with rats and rodents but we don’t see it outside of those four corner areas.”
KPRC 2 also asked whether some people may face higher risks if exposed to the virus.
“That’s a very good question,” Kaplan said. “I would suspect anybody with an underlying condition especially people who have lung conditions or heart conditions may be at increased risk for getting a really severe form of this type of infection but for the general population I don’t think it’s anything to be too worried about.”
The online conversation has also sparked questions about cleaning and prevention.
“There’s some people out there who just want to be on the super safe side — should they go around spraying alcohol or Lysol on their countertops?” Clarke asked.
“I think just do your normal cleaning in your home, washing your hands like you ordinarily would and that’s my advice,” Kaplan responded.
Kaplan also addressed questions about vaccines.
“As far as I know there’s no vaccine that’s available,” he said. “There’s probably people working on hantavirus vaccines somewhere in the world, not because of this outbreak but because of hantavirus in general.”
When asked how long hantavirus has existed, Kaplan said: “Oh yeah probably, thousands of years.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, hantaviruses are primarily spread through contact with infected rodents or their droppings. More information can be found on the CDC’s hantavirus information page.