There is an outbreak of another deadly virus in China called the Hantavirus, with a man testing positive for the virus after dying on a bus.
Health officials quickly tested the man after dying only to find out he tested positive for another deadly virus different from coronavirus.
The unnamed resident of Yunnan province died while on a chartered bus heading to his workplace in Shandong province.
The state-run Global Times announced in a tweet Monday about the incident.
A person from Yunnan Province died while on his way back to Shandong Province for work on a chartered bus on Monday. He was tested positive for #hantavirus. Other 32 people on bus were tested. pic.twitter.com/SXzBpWmHvW
— Global Times (@globaltimesnews) March 24, 2020
Hantavirus according to experts is deadlier than Coronavirus and produces very similar symptoms.
But experts say this latest virus is not new and has only rarely thought to have been passed between humans.
Swedish scientist Dr. Sumaiya Shaikh said in a tweet that “The #Hantavirus first emerged in 1950s in the American-Korean war in Korea (Hantan river). It spreads from rat/mice if humans ingest their body fluids. Human-human transmission is rare.”
The #Hantavirus first emerged in 1950s in the American-Korean war in Korea (Hantan river). It spreads from rat/mice if humans injest their body fluids. Human-human transmission is rare. There were even vaccines developed for it. Please do not panic, unless you plan to eat rats.
— Dr Sumaiya Shaikh (@Neurophysik) March 24, 2020
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said hantavirus is rare and puts the death rate at 38 percent.
According to experts symptoms of hantavirus may occur up to eight weeks “after exposure to fresh urine, droppings, or saliva of infected rodents.”
The CDC said the virus can occasionally also come from bites from infected rats or mice.
Sufferers of hantavirus report fevers, headaches, coughing and shortness of breath.
Hantavirus is named for the Hantan River area in South Korea where an early outbreak was observed.
Source: Africafeeds.com
