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Concerns about the rise in hantavirus cases have Americans reflecting the coronavirus pandemic.
Although COVID-19 started with difficulties in other countries and quickly spread around the world, experts say it is unlikely that the hantavirus will behave in the same way.
The rare Andes virus, which was linked to the MV Hondius shipwreck, is the only known hantavirus that has the ability to spread from person to person, usually through prolonged contact.
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Fox News senior medical analyst Dr. Marc Siegel spoke to Fox News Digital about the similarities and differences between the hantavirus and the coronavirus, noting that “there is no comparison.”
“You could say the comparison ends with both being single-stranded RNA viruses,” he said. “That's a comparison, though [hantavirus] it has been unchanged for decades. “
Dr. Marc Siegel says “there is no comparison between the two viruses, except that both single-stranded RNA viruses are carried by animals.” (Stock)
The coronavirus was different because it started mutating, which started causing “all kinds of problems,” Siegel noted.
“We don't know why it started to change, but this one doesn't seem to have done that,” he said. “And every day that goes by seems to show that theory is right – the genes are the same.”
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“Therefore, there is no comparison between the two viruses, except that single-stranded RNA viruses are both carried by animals.”
Siegel added that COVID is an airborne virus, while hantavirus is primarily a liquid-borne virus, although it can be spread through dust and airborne droplets.
The rare Andes virus, which was linked to the MV Hondius shipwreck, is the only known hantavirus that has the ability to spread from person to person, usually through prolonged contact. (Andres Gutierrez/Anadolu)
“It's not airborne … it's about respiratory droplets hanging in the air,” he said. “It's very difficult to convey.”
While the coronavirus “travels remarkably well in humans,” the hantavirus does not, except for “very rare” human-to-human transmission, according to the doctor.
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There have been cases of hantavirus in the US for decades, although they are “very rare,” Siegel noted.
Certain factors that spread the disease are changing, including hotter temperatures that are causing rats to migrate north to Buenos Aires, according to the doctor.
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The current outbreak from the cruise ship didn't help the cause, Siegel continued — but this spread doesn't suggest the virus has changed. Instead, it shows that the immediate area of the ship is “very suitable” for spreading, he said.
Passengers disembark from the hantavirus-stricken MV Hondius in the port of Granadilla in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, on May 10, 2026. (AP Photo)
“Every day that passes shows that … we are not seeing the second generation of the spread,” he stressed.
The best comparison to make is between hantavirus and bird flu, a virus found mostly in animals that “always infects humans at some point,” Siegel said.
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“There are billions of birds, and every year we talk about how it will cause an epidemic, but it will have to change a lot,” he said. “I hear that [hantavirus] it's going to have to evolve a lot before it goes to humans in any significant way, because this is an animal virus…
Siegel continued, “If you get this virus, you're in trouble, but getting this virus is very difficult.”
A person visits a COVID testing facility on a Manhattan street in New York City on Jan. 21, 2022. “Coronaviruses are airborne … not,” said Dr. Siegel. “And coronaviruses change a lot, and this doesn't happen.” (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
Regarding the fear of another global pandemic, Siegel said that just because one virus is spreading doesn't mean all of its viruses are.
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“Coronaviruses are airborne anyway. This is not the case. And coronaviruses change a lot, and this does not happen,” he said. “I'm more worried about the flu than this. The flu can change all the time, and it's already going from person to person everywhere, and it's airborne.”
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“Many infectious disease specialists are more concerned about the flu than this one, as it kills more,” he added.
“We're talking about apples and oranges, and any comparison you make after that raises fears.”
Melissa Rudy of Fox News Digital contributed to this report.
