On Monday, China’s Global Times reported that a man from Yunnan Province died while on his way back to Shandong Province due to Hantavirus
While the world is still dealing with the coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, another deadly virus has been causing panic among people. Known as hantavirus, the virus has reportedly killed a man in China while he was travelling on the bus for work from Yunnan Province to his way back in Shandong Province. According to China's Global Times, 32 other people on the bus were also tested positive for hantavirus. More so, the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CSC) has said that this disease is not restricted to China and cases have been reported from North America, South America and Korea. However, the virus, which is not new to the world, is different from coronavirus in many ways.
Here's how:
Coronavirus vs Hantavirus - How is it transmitted
While coronavirus is transmitted through fomites (little particles that exist when a person has coronavirus and can be transmitted when coughing or sneezing on another person), hantavirus can be transmitted when a person breathes in an infected rodent's dropping, urine or saliva. The source from where coronavirus originated is still being studied.
What happens after the virus reaches lungs
Hantavirus invades into tiny blood vessels called capillaries which cause them to leak and flood with fluid, causing respiratory problems. On the other hand, in coronavirus, the tiny tubes in lungs turn into tiny air sacs, which fill up with water, making it difficult to breathe.
Symptoms
Coronavirus symptoms differ and can range from - fever, fatigue, dry cough, runny nose, sore throat, nasal congestion, aches, pains and even diarrhoea. In hantavirus, people are believed to get fever and chills, headaches and muscle aches, vomiting, diarrhea or abdominal pain. Low blood pressure and shortness of breath are also symptoms of later stages in the virus. Like COVID-19, hantavirus is difficult to detech at early stages since it is difficult to distinguish the root of the problems.
Cure/prevention
There is no definite cure of coronavirus or hantavirus at this stage. The best any person can do in both cases is prevent contact. While in coronavirus, maintaining hygiene with disinfectants and hand santizers (along with quarantine) remains a must, preventing hantavirus is easier if one can get rid of rodents.
The vaccines for coronavirus are believed to be ready in 12-18 months, but there is no update on how can hantavirus be cured at later stages. Early hospitalization still remains a good solution for people to be cured of the disease.
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 "Coronavirus vs Hantavirus: How to prevent another deadly virus")
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