Why hantavirus bears little resemblance to Covid-19

"The coronavirus jumped to humans in 2019. Until then, it was unknown. Consequently, there was little knowledge about it: how it spread, its incubation period, the symptoms it caused, or its fatality rate. That was what led to the miscalculation by virtually all global health authorities in the early months of 2020."

"Initially, it was thought that SARS-CoV-2 was transmitted only through saliva droplets, leading to the hypothesis that its spread would be more controllable. However, it was soon discovered that this was not the case: it was transmitted through the air, via breathing, like a common cold."

"Hantavirus, although rare, has been present among humans for centuries. The hemorrhagic fevers with renal syndrome it caused were identified in the early 20th century, and in 1993, a new rodent-borne variant causing respiratory symptoms was discovered during an outbreak in the United States."

Fernando Simon's recent statements minimizing hantavirus risk recall his early COVID-19 assessments, but the situations differ fundamentally. SARS-CoV-2 emerged as a novel pathogen in 2019 with unknown transmission mechanisms, initially believed to spread only through droplets before airborne transmission was discovered. The human immune system lacked familiarity with this virus, causing severe consequences in vulnerable populations. Hantavirus, conversely, has existed for centuries with documented hemorrhagic fevers identified in the early 20th century and a respiratory variant discovered in 1993. Critically, hantavirus transmission to humans remains difficult despite being possible, making pandemic potential substantially lower than the coronavirus that caused the global health crisis.

Read at english.elpais.com