Zhang Wenhong responds to the rare epidemic outbreak on a high-end polar exploration cruise ship that has already caused 3 deaths. Can the Antarctic virus be transmitted between people?

On the evening of May 3rd local time, the World Health Organization confirmed that a cruise ship sailing in the Atlantic Ocean had cases of Hantavirus infection. So far, one case of Hantavirus infection has been confirmed, with 5 suspected cases. Among the 6 patients, 3 have already died. Prof. Zhang Wenhong, director of the Department of Infectious Diseases at Huashan Hospital affiliated with Fudan University, said: "The outbreak of the epidemic on this cruise ship has attracted high attention from the scientific community, mainly because the transmission route of Hantavirus is unusual. Hantavirus transmission mainly occurs through environmental exposure, from rodents to humans, but outbreaks on relatively closed modern modes of transportation such as cruise ships are rare, and the specific reasons are still pending the final results of virus sequencing."