Hantaviruses are a family of rodent-borne RNA viruses (genus Orthohantavirus, family Hantaviridae) capable of causing two distinct clinical syndromes in humans: Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS), predominantly in the Americas, and Haemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome (HFRS), predominantly across Eurasia. HORIZON tracks every known orthohantavirus of public-health concern and aggregates outbreak signal from WHO, CDC, ECDC, PAHO, ProMED, peer-reviewed literature, and open news — with full audit-grade source provenance on every record.
Hantaviruses are tri-segmented negative-sense single-stranded RNA viruses in the family Hantaviridae. Each serotype is associated with a specific rodent reservoir species — host specificity is so strong that co-divergence with the rodent lineage is one of the dominant evolutionary features of the family. Humans become infected when they inhale virus aerosolised from rodent excreta (urine, faeces, saliva) or rarely via direct contact with infected animals. With one exception — Andes virus — hantaviruses do not transmit person-to-person.
The 2026 MV Hondius cluster is the flagship investigation currently surfaced on the HORIZON live map. The cluster traces back to suspected pre-departure exposure during a wildlife excursion near Ushuaia (Tierra del Fuego, Argentina), with Andes virus (ANDV) confirmed by PCR on the South African case. Authoritative counts come from WHO Disease Outbreak News 2026-DON600 and ECDC surveillance updates; news corroboration is layered with NATO Admiralty Scale ratings and dual confidence scoring.
HORIZON surfaces a dedicated page per orthohantavirus serotype of documented public-health concern. Each page details the reservoir species, endemic range, syndrome type, case-fatality estimate, transmission profile, and links to authoritative WHO/CDC sources.
Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS) · CFR 30 to 50 percent
Andes virus is the most lethal hantavirus serotype recognised in the Americas. It is endemic to the southern cone of South America and is the primary serotype implicated in the 202…
Read more on ANDV →Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS) · CFR approximately 38 percent
Sin Nombre virus is the principal cause of Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome in North America. First identified in 1993 during the Four Corners outbreak, it is carried by the deer mous…
Read more on SNV →Nephropathia Epidemica (mild HFRS) · CFR less than 1 percent
Puumala virus is the most common cause of hantavirus disease in Europe. It produces a milder renal-syndrome variant called nephropathia epidemica and is associated with cyclical ba…
Read more on PUUV →Haemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome (HFRS) · CFR 5 to 15 percent
Hantaan virus is the prototype hantavirus and the most severe cause of HFRS in east Asia. South Korea licences a vaccine (Hantavax) targeting this serotype; no antiviral or vaccine…
Read more on HTNV →Haemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome (HFRS, mild) · CFR 1 to 2 percent
Seoul virus circulates wherever its rat reservoirs do — effectively global. Outbreaks have been reported in pet-rat fanciers in the US and UK and in urban populations near port inf…
Read more on SEOV →Haemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome (HFRS, severe) · CFR 10 to 12 percent
Dobrava-Belgrade virus causes the most severe form of HFRS in Europe, with case fatality rates approaching Hantaan virus levels. It is endemic across the Balkans, Slovenia, and par…
Read more on DOBV →HPS is the more lethal presentation, with overall case-fatality between 30 and 50 percent for Andes virus and around 38 percent for Sin Nombre virus per CDC surveillance. After a 1–8 week incubation, patients develop a brief flu-like prodrome (fever, myalgia, headache) followed by rapid cardiopulmonary collapse with non-cardiogenic pulmonary oedema and shock. The defining lab finding is thrombocytopenia plus left-shifted white-cell count with circulating immunoblasts.
HFRS is associated with Old World serotypes — Hantaan virus and Dobrava-Belgrade virus cause severe disease (CFR 5 to 15 percent); Puumala virus and Seoul virus cause milder presentations (CFR less than 2 percent). The classical five-stage clinical course (febrile, hypotensive, oliguric, diuretic, convalescent) is most recognisable in Hantaan-virus disease. Acute kidney injury is the defining renal feature.
A detailed breakdown is available on the hantavirus symptoms, transmission, prevention, and treatment pages.
HORIZON maintains per-country pages with case chronology and authoritative-source linkage. Recognised endemic regions include:
Every record on HORIZON carries an audit-grade citation including:
Browse the live source registry for the current status of every WHO, CDC, ECDC, PAHO, ProMED, national-authority, peer-reviewed-journal, and aggregator feed in the pipeline.
All HORIZON data is published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence. Mirror it, scrape it, index it, train on it — attribution to 79th Unit Limited is the only requirement. JSON endpoints are documented in our OpenAPI schema:
GET /api/v1/cases — ingested case reports with qualification scoresGET /api/v1/incidents — authoritative outbreak counts and ontologyGET /api/v1/sources — source registry with quality telemetryGET /api/v1/meta/stats — global countersGET /api/v1/meta/events — chronological event feedOr subscribe via RSS, Atom, or JSON Feed.
The dominant hantavirus event of 2026 is the MV Hondius Andes virus cluster — 28 confirmed cases across 11 nationalities following Antarctic expedition voyages departing Ushuaia, Argentina. WHO DON 600, PAHO, ECDC, and CDC are co-ordinating.
Full 2026 hantavirus outbreak tracker → · MV Hondius incident page →
HORIZON is the only public hantavirus tracker with 65+ authoritative sources, a free JSON API, an individual-level line list, and a published methodology. See the full live tracker comparison — HORIZON vs hantavirus.live, hanta-live.com, and hantaviruslive.com.
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| What is hantavirus? | A family of rodent-borne RNA viruses (genus Orthohantavirus) causing two distinct diseases in humans. |
| Two clinical syndromes? | HPS (pulmonary, in the Americas) and HFRS (renal + haemorrhagic, in Eurasia). |
| How do humans get infected? | Inhaling aerosolised rodent excreta in enclosed spaces. Only Andes virus also transmits between people. |
| Incubation period? | 1-8 weeks, median 2-4 weeks. |
| First symptoms? | Fever, severe muscle aches, headache, fatigue, GI symptoms — flu-like prodrome lasting 3-7 days. |
| Mortality rate? | Sin Nombre HPS: 36-38%. Andes HPS: 30-50%. Puumala HFRS: under 1%. Hantaan HFRS: 5-15%. |
| Treatment? | Intensive supportive care. No licensed antiviral. ECMO halves HPS mortality. Ribavirin helps early HFRS. |
| Vaccine? | None licensed in the UK, EU, USA, Canada, or Australia. Korea (Hantavax) and China (Hantavac) have regional vaccines. |
| Prevention? | Rodent exclusion at home; CDC bleach protocol for cleanup; PPE when entering known-infested structures. |
| Is it contagious? | No, except Andes virus, which has documented household-contact person-to-person transmission. |
HORIZON tracks 12+ orthohantavirus serotypes of human-health relevance. Each has a dedicated page with reservoir species, endemic range, clinical syndrome, and CFR.
| Serotype | Region | Reservoir | Syndrome | CFR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sin Nombre (SNV) | USA, Canada, northern Mexico | Deer mouse | HPS | 36-38% |
| Andes (ANDV) | Chile, Argentina (Patagonia) | Long-tailed pygmy rice rat | HPS (with P2P) | 30-50% |
| Puumala (PUUV) | Northern + central Europe | Bank vole | HFRS (mild) | <1% |
| Hantaan (HTNV) | China, Korea, Russian Far East | Striped field mouse | HFRS (severe) | 5-15% |
| Seoul (SEOV) | Worldwide via shipping | Brown rat | HFRS (mild) | <1% |
| Dobrava-Belgrade (DOBV) | Balkans, eastern Europe | Yellow-necked mouse | HFRS (severe) | 5-12% |
| Laguna Negra (LANV) | Paraguay, Bolivia, Argentina | Vesper mouse | HPS | ~12% |
| Choclo (CHOV) | Panama | Costa Rican pygmy rice rat | HPS (mild) | ~10% |
| Bayou (BAYV) | Southeastern USA | Marsh rice rat | HPS | ~33% |
| Black Creek Canal (BCCV) | Florida, southeastern USA | Cotton rat | HPS | Rare cases |
| New York virus (NY-1) | Northeastern USA | White-footed mouse | HPS | Rare cases |
| Tula (TULV) | Europe, central Asia | European common vole | HFRS (mild, rare) | <1% |
The MV Hondius cluster, which began in April 2026, is the defining hantavirus event of the year. Specifically:
Hantavirus disease is the clinical illness caused by infection with any of the orthohantaviruses, a family of rodent-borne RNA viruses. Humans develop one of two distinct syndromes depending on the strain: Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS) in the Americas, with case-fatality 30-50%; or Haemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome (HFRS) across Eurasia, with case-fatality ranging from under 1% (Puumala) to 15% (Hantaan).
Global incidence is approximately 150,000-200,000 cases per year, with the vast majority being HFRS in China (10,000-30,000), Russia (5,000-10,000), and Korea (300-500). HPS in the Americas is much rarer in absolute terms (under 1,000 confirmed cases per year worldwide) but has much higher case-fatality. Real incidence is higher than reported because of underreporting in lower-surveillance regions.
Yes. Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome has case-fatality 30-50% and deteriorates rapidly once respiratory symptoms appear. Even mild hantavirus disease (Puumala HFRS, Seoul virus) typically involves hospital admission. Survivors can have long-term pulmonary or renal sequelae. Early recognition and intensive critical care are essential.
Hantavirus has co-evolved with specific rodent species over millions of years. Each serotype has one primary reservoir rodent. Sin Nombre virus lives in deer mice; Andes virus in long-tailed pygmy rice rats; Puumala virus in bank voles; Hantaan virus in striped field mice. The virus is shed in rodent urine, faeces, and saliva, contaminating the environment wherever the rodent lives.
HPS (Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome) is the New World form, caused mainly by Sin Nombre and Andes virus. After a flu-like prodrome, it progresses to rapid-onset non-cardiogenic pulmonary oedema with shock. Case-fatality 30-50%. HFRS (Haemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome) is the Old World form, caused by Hantaan, Puumala, Seoul, and Dobrava-Belgrade. It progresses through five phases ending in acute kidney injury and possible haemorrhage. Case-fatality varies from under 1% (Puumala) to 15% (Hantaan).
Hantavirus is unlikely to cause a true pandemic because all serotypes except Andes virus require rodent contact for transmission and cannot spread between people. Andes virus CAN transmit between people but only via close household contact during the acute illness, which limits outbreak size. The MV Hondius 2026 cluster has not exceeded ~30 confirmed cases despite passenger dispersal across continents — secondary transmission has been limited.