Why Hantavirus Will Not Be The Next Pandemic

InnovationScienceWhy Hantavirus Will Not Be The Next PandemicByJohn Drake,Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. John Drake is a professor at the University of Georgia. Follow AuthorMay 07, 2026, 01:19pm EDT--:-- / --:--This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.TOPSHOT - This aerial view shows health personnel assisting patients onto a boat from the cruise ship MV Hondius, while stationary off the port of Praia, the capital of Cape Verde, on May 6, 2026. Evacuations were taking place on May 6, 2026 from a cruise ship stricken with a deadly outbreak of hantavirus, the World Health Organization said, as experts confirmed a rare strain that can be transmitted between humans.Three people, two crew members and one other person, thought to be infected with the virus were being taken off the MV Hondius, anchored off Cape Verde, the WHO said. (Photo by AFP via Getty Images)AFP via Getty ImagesThe MV Hondius, a Dutch-flagged polar expedition ship, is sailing for Spain’s Canary Islands after an outbreak that has so far produced seven confirmed or suspected hantavirus infections and three deaths, with an eighth case confirmed the following day in Switzerland in a passenger who had already left the ship. The virus has been identified as the Andes strain, the only hantavirus known to pass between people. The WHO has issued a Disease Outbreak News. 147 passengers and crew from 23 nationalities were aboard.After six years of pandemic aftermath, many people are asking: is this the next COVID? I study the dynamics of infectious disease outbreaks, and the short answer is no. The biology of this virus makes large-scale spread extremely unlikely.Two Cruise Ships, Two VirusesCruise ships pack people into confined quarters for weeks. They are about as favorable an environment for disease transmission as you will find outside a laboratory.We have a direct comparison. In early 2020, C...