By Shalini Bhardwaj

New Delhi [India], May 8 (ANI): Amid concerns triggered by reports of a hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship carrying 149 passengers, including two Indian crew members, medical experts on Friday sought to allay fears, stating that there is no cause for panic and no pandemic threat to India.

While speaking to ANI, Dr Naveen Kumar, Director of ICMR-National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune, stated that the reported infections among Indian nationals appear to be isolated imported cases and do not indicate any community spread within India.

'At present, the reported infections among Indian nationals aboard a cruise ship appear to be isolated imported cases and do not indicate community spread in India. Since hantavirus transmission is primarily rodent-borne and not easily spread between humans, the immediate public health risk remains low,' he added.

Dr Kumar further explained the transmission pattern of the virus and clarified that human-to-human spread is extremely uncommon.

'Hantaviruses are mainly transmitted to humans through contact with infected rodents or their excreta, i.e. saliva, urine and faeces. People usually get infected by inhaling aerosolised virus particles from rodent urine, droppings, or saliva in closed or poorly ventilated spaces such as warehouses, ships, barns, and storage areas. Rodent bites can also rarely transmit infection. Unlike COVID-19, human-to-human transmission is extremely uncommon. Most hantaviruses, especially those reported in Asia and Europe, do not spread between humans. Limited person-to-person transmission has only been documented with some South American strains such as the Andes virus,' he said.

On diagnostic preparedness, Dr Kumar said India has a strong testing capacity to detect hantavirus infections.

'India has diagnostic capacity for hantavirus infection through the ICMR-National Institute of Virology (ICMR-NIV) and the nationwide Viral Research and Diagnostic Laboratory (VRDL) Network of 165 labs, where RT-PCR facilities are available for confirmation of suspected cases,' he said.

Speaking to ANI, Dr Puneet Misra, Professor of Community Medicine at AIIMS Delhi, said the health status of the Indian crew members remains unclear at present, but stressed that there is no wider public health risk.

'They might have been exposed to the infection, whether they are infected or not; that information I do not have at the moment. There is no pandemic threat, no epidemic threat. The public should not worry. There is no need for panic,' Dr Misra said.

He further clarified that hantavirus is not a new disease and differs significantly from COVID-19 in both nature and transmission pattern.

'Hantavirus disease is a viral disease spread by a group of viruses, and the recent episode, which has alarmed the public, happened on a cruise. This infection is not new,' he added.

Explaining the difference from COVID-19, Dr Misra said both viruses have completely different transmission routes.

'COVID was a new virus. We did not know anything about COVID. The mode of transmission was through the respiratory route. This virus spreads through rodents, rats and mice. Human to human, there are some cases reported from one of the viruses, known as the Andes virus, which is very rare. Mainly, it's through rodents to humans,' Dr Misra added.

He also outlined the common symptoms associated with hantavirus infection, noting that they may vary depending on the strain.

'The main symptoms are fatigue, fever, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal pain, and there may be muscular pain, joint pain. Depending on the kind of virus which is there, there may be symptoms related to the lungs, pulmonary symptoms, there may be symptoms related to the kidneys.' Dr Misra added. (ANI)