BOOM

Trending Searches

    SUPPORT
    BOOM

    Trending News

      • Fact Check 
        • Fast Check
        • Politics
        • Business
        • Entertainment
        • Social
        • Sports
        • World
      • Law
      • Explainers
      • News 
        • All News
      • Decode 
        • Impact
        • Scamcheck
        • Life
        • Voices
      • Media Buddhi 
        • Digital Buddhi
        • Senior Citizens
        • Videos
      • Web Stories
      • BOOM Research
      • BOOM Labs
      • Deepfake Tracker
      • Videos 
        • Facts Neeti
      • Home-icon
        Home
      • About Us-icon
        About Us
      • Authors-icon
        Authors
      • Team-icon
        Team
      • Careers-icon
        Careers
      • Internship-icon
        Internship
      • Contact Us-icon
        Contact Us
      • Methodology-icon
        Methodology
      • Correction Policy-icon
        Correction Policy
      • Non-Partnership Policy-icon
        Non-Partnership Policy
      • Cookie Policy-icon
        Cookie Policy
      • Grievance Redressal-icon
        Grievance Redressal
      • Republishing Guidelines-icon
        Republishing Guidelines
      • Fact Check-icon
        Fact Check
        Fast Check
        Politics
        Business
        Entertainment
        Social
        Sports
        World
      • Law-icon
        Law
      • Explainers-icon
        Explainers
      • News-icon
        News
        All News
      • Decode-icon
        Decode
        Impact
        Scamcheck
        Life
        Voices
      • Media Buddhi-icon
        Media Buddhi
        Digital Buddhi
        Senior Citizens
        Videos
      • Web Stories-icon
        Web Stories
      • BOOM Research-icon
        BOOM Research
      • BOOM Labs-icon
        BOOM Labs
      • Deepfake Tracker-icon
        Deepfake Tracker
      • Videos-icon
        Videos
        Facts Neeti
      Trending Tags
      TRENDING
      • #Operation Sindoor
      • #Pahalgam Terror Attack
      • #Narendra Modi
      • #Rahul Gandhi
      • #Waqf Amendment Bill
      • #Arvind Kejriwal
      • #Deepfake
      • #Artificial Intelligence
      • Home
      • World
      • Is The Hantavirus A 'New' Disease...
      World

      Is The Hantavirus A 'New' Disease Emerging From China? A FactCheck.

      The virus was first detected during the Korean War in the 1950s as opposed to the misleading claims that it is new.

      By - AFP |
      Published -  1 April 2020 6:30 PM IST
    • Boomlive
      Is The Hantavirus A New Disease Emerging From China? A FactCheck.


      A claim has circulated in multiple Facebook, Twitter and YouTube that a "new virus" named hantavirus has emerged in China in March 2020. The posts were viewed hundreds of thousands of times as the world battled the spread of the novel coronavirus, which causes the disease COVID-19. The claim is false; scientists say hantavirus is not a new virus and was first detected during the Korean War in the 1950s; the US-based Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says the virus has almost exclusively been found to pass from rodents to humans, rather than from person to person.

      The misleading claim was shared this Facebook post on March 24, 2020.

      The post's caption states: "JUST WHEN CHINA & WHOLE WORLD IS TRYING TO GET CURED FROM CORONA VIRUS, HERE COMES ANOTHER VIRUS

      "THERE IS A NEW VIRUS IN CHINA NAMED HANTA VIRUS WHICH IS CAUSED DUE TO RATS

      "ONE DIED AND FEW TESTED POSITIVE".

      COVID-19 was first detected in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December 2019. It has killed more than 36,000 people and infected almost 754,000 others worldwide, according to data provided by the World Health Organization (WHO).

      Below is a screenshot of the misleading post:

      One case of hantavirus was reported in the province of Shandong here in a tweet by Chinese state media organisation Global Times on March 24, 2020.

      A similar claim that hantavirus is a "new virus" was shared by Australia-based Facebook users here and here. The claim was also included in videos on Twitter here, here, here and here, which were viewed thousands of times. A similar claim was also viewed hundreds of thousands of times in videos shared by Indian media WION here and ET Now here.

      ALSO READ: Hantavirus Fear Grips Social Media: All You Need To Know

      The claim is false; scientists have said hantavirus is not new and was first detected during the Korean War in the 1950s.

      This 2010 study titled "A Global Perspective on Hantavirus Ecology, Epidemiology, and Disease" was published in the peer-reviewed journal Clinical Microbiology Reviews. It states: "In the past century, two major outbreaks of disease led to the discovery of hantaviruses in the Old and New Worlds. The first outbreak occurred during the Korean War (1950 to 1953), wherein more than 3,000 United Nations troops fell ill with Korean hemorrhagic fever, which is commonly referred to as hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS)."

      ALSO READ: Did Italians Throw Their Money On The Streets Due To COVID-19 Deaths?

      This video produced by the University of California, San Francisco, gives more details about hantavirus.

      Hantavirus is almost exclusively transmitted from rodents to humans, rather than from person to person, according to the US-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

      "Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS) is a severe, sometimes fatal, respiratory disease in humans caused by infection with hantaviruses. Anyone who comes into contact with rodents that carry hantaviruses is at risk of HPS. The hantaviruses that cause human illness in the United States cannot be transmitted from one person to another. In Chile and Argentina, rare cases of person-to-person transmission have occurred among close contacts of a person who was ill with a type of hantavirus called Andes virus," the CDC says.

      ALSO READ: BOOM Quiz 8: So You Think You Know COVID-19?

      There is currently no specific treatment, cure or vaccine for HPS or COVID-19.

      COVID-19 is a respiratory illness which passes from person to person. The mortality rate of for the disease is about one to two percent as of March 2020.

      For HPS, the mortality rate is 38 percent, according to the CDC.

      ALSO READ: Hoax Message Claims WhatsApp Group Admins Detained For Coronavirus Fake News

      Symptoms for COVID-19 patients may take up to two weeks to develop, while those infected with hantavirus may be asymptomatic for up to eight weeks.

      (Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by BOOM staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

      Tags

      Hantavirushantavirus march 2020Hantavirus Pulmonary SyndromeUS CDCWion HantavirusCoronavirusFake NewsinfodemicET NowWIONFAKE NEWSFact CheckChina
      Read Full Article
      Claim :   A 'new virus' named Hantavirus has emerged in China in March 2020.
      Claimed By :  WION & ET Now TV News channels, Social Media & YouTube users
      Fact Check :  False
      Next Story
      Our website is made possible by displaying online advertisements to our visitors.
      Please consider supporting us by disabling your ad blocker. Please reload after ad blocker is disabled.
      X

      Subscribe to BOOM Newsletters

      👉 No spam, no paywall — but verified insights.

      Please enter a Email Address
      Subscribe for free!

      Stay Ahead of Misinformation!

      Please enter a Email Address
      Subscribe Now🛡️ 100% Privacy Protected | No Spam, Just Facts
      By subscribing, you agree with the Terms & conditions and Privacy Policy connected to the offer

      Thank you for subscribing!

      You’re now part of the BOOM community.

      Or, Subscribe to receive latest news via email
      Subscribed Successfully...
      Copy HTMLHTML is copied!
      There's no data to copy!