🚨🦠 RUN FOR COVER!! The NEXT PANASONIC May Be HERE?! 😷🏥 HANTAVIRUS Explained

Added: 2026-05-11

[00:00:00]Grab your Lysol and your face mask because we are headed for the next panoramic. I'm Jessie Woo and this is TikToks.

[00:00:09]>> [music and singing] >> Welcome back to TikToks. I'm your host Jessie Woo. Thank you so much for checking out another episode of our very own true crime series on this channel.

[00:00:21]While you're here, make sure that you like this video, subscribe to this channel, and share this story with a friend or two or three because y'all we are headed for our very next Panasonic.

[00:00:32]We are headed into the next Panasonic, okay? I don't know if you are are aware of what is going on, but hantavirus is here.

[00:00:41]Hantavirus is here. Jump for cover.

[00:00:45]Hantavirus is a virus transmitted mainly from rodents to humans. It's the same rare disease that is blamed on the death of Betsy Arakawa, the wife of late actor Gene Hackman, last year. Dr. Kavita Patel says symptoms can take days to appear. It first manifests with like a cough or shortness of breath or something that's pulmonary, sometimes a fast heart rate, often with a fever, and as the virus kind of gets a attack of the body, you can see other symptoms including sepsis. The World Health Organization says that while rare, hantavirus may spread between people.

[00:01:22]Jump for cover. Hantavirus is here, okay? So, this all apparently started on a very luxurious Antarctica cruise. One moment the people were sipping their champagne while looking over at penguins. Next thing you know, PEOPLE STARTED COUGHING.

[00:01:39]UH-UH, [laughter] HOLD ON. HOLD ON.

[00:01:42]>> [cough] >> WHERE'S THE LYSOL?

[00:01:47]>> [singing] >> Then the people started collapsing. Some people had to be airlifted. Yes, airlifted off the boat and suddenly this word hantavirus was born and trending harder than a housewives reunion fight.

[00:02:01]>> I would be worried because the incubation period for hantavirus can be up to a week. Can be very deadly. Um it can either take the form of um a pulmonary disease so it infects your lungs and your breathing or it can be a hemorrhagic disease. Affects your renal function, your your kidney function.

[00:02:23]Both can be, you know, extraordinarily um serious. It's not easily spread from person to person. The mode of transmission is really through exposure to the rodent droppings or their urine or those droppings can be disturbed and they go in the air and you can breathe it in and get it. It's something that you know, everyone um who's in the area of a rat dropping could be um could be exposed.

[00:02:54]>> tell y'all something. I don't trust no illness that allegedly starts with a rat. We already survived the 2020 panoramic. I am not I am not I am not available for another Panasonic. So what is going on with this virus that apparently started with a rodent on a cruise ship in the middle of the ocean, mind you. Like the devil is so damn busy.

[00:03:15]>> If hantavirus is not normally transmitted from person to person, how is it possible, do you think, that multiple people on the ship have the virus? Yeah, a hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship was not on my top 50 or even 100 things that I would worry about for a cruise ship. I and other experts really think there are three possibilities here. The first is that a bunch of folks were exposed when they were traveling off the ship. Maybe they went to a cave or to a house that had rodent droppings that got aerosolized and they all got infected there.

[00:03:47]The second possibility, which would worry me if I were a cruise ship owner, is that there were mice or other rodents on the cruise ship that were running around and exposed a bunch of folks.

[00:03:58]The third possibility, and the one that most worries folks like me, public health experts, emergency physicians, is the possibility that there could be person-to-person transmission. And Jake, here's the important part. There has been a report of one strain of hantavirus in Argentina, known as the Andes strain, which is known to cause limited person-to-person transmission. Many of us are worried that it may be that strain that got onto the boat and that may be spreading, but it's far too early to know. Now, what makes this just messy as hell is that people started getting sick days days before any reports were given to any authorities. And somehow, these people were getting off this boat and catching international flights.

[00:04:48]Okay, just grouping and just just boarding international flights like they was just hopping on a Southwest flight and they was boarding group C, okay?

[00:04:55]Meanwhile, our current Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F.

[00:05:00]Kennedy Jr., hasn't said a damn thing.

[00:05:04]Hasn't said a damn thing. Am I surprised? No.

[00:05:07]This man was anti-vaccine. Remember that. This is an anti-vaxer, okay? So, he hasn't said a damn thing. There doesn't seem to be any sense of urgency about the fact that we might have to really go back to TikToking, okay? Do you Do y'all remember how we were all We might have to go to that.

[00:05:30]>> [laughter] >> WE MIGHT HAVE TO GO I CAN'T EVEN LIKE, GIRL, I DO NOT WANT TO GO BACK TO THAT SO, let's get into the timeline of the hantavirus, okay? So, on April 1st, the cruise ship by the name of the MV Hondius, it leaves Ushuaia on a long polar expedition cruise heading through Antarctica and across the South Atlantic. Roughly 147 passengers and crew from more than 20 countries were aboard. Health investigators now believe that the outbreak may have started before passengers boarded. Authorities in Argentina are saying that a Dutch couple may have been exposed during a landfill excursion near Ushuaia where infected rodents may have been present.

[00:06:18]Now, moving on to April 6th through the 11th, a Dutch passenger reportedly became ill around April 6th with flu-like symptoms that later worsened into severe respiratory distress. On April 11th, the first death aboard the ship happened. And at the time, hantavirus had not yet been identified publicly. This is one of the moments now under scrutiny, okay? Because why wasn't the ship isolated immediately? Why did the voyage continue? They literally continued the voyage post this death.

[00:06:49]And it also seems as if the passengers on board the ship were not notified about this.

[00:06:55]>> [music] >> Me and my cameraman tried to isolate ourselves. We didn't leave our cabin as much as we can. We stayed there.

[00:07:12]Management didn't understand what was going on and didn't give any possibility of of any to any contagious disease.

[00:07:22]Well, good morning to everybody.

[00:07:25]One of our passengers suddenly passed away last night. Tragic as this it was due to natural causes, we believe.

[00:07:35]And also whatever health issues he was having with, I'm told by the doctor, were not infectious.

[00:07:45]They said uh a gentleman has passed away.

[00:07:50]Uh everyone was shocked, but uh the ship management tried to calm people down.

[00:08:19]So, I thought that might be a that's fever going on around with the people. That was the first initial thought.

[00:08:28]And after observing this lady struggling with her condition, I thought it's better to stay in the room and taking a risk.

[00:09:01]For a couple of weeks, I don't plan to go out public. And if I have any symptoms, I'm told that I have to uh wear a mask and call for an ambulance.

[00:09:21]So, now we move on to mid-April. Okay, the cruise is still sojourning through Antarctica.

[00:09:28]Okay? Like the cruise is still sojourning through Antarctica. The ship continues traveling through remote Atlantic. And now it done made its way to the Atlantic, including Tristan da Cunha and other island stops. Additional passengers reportedly begin showing symptoms including fever, vomiting, pneumonia, pneumonia-like illness, respiratory failure. And still, at this stage, no authorities were contacted.

[00:09:57]No health officials were made aware that this was taking place on this cruise. Now, let's move on to April 23rd to the 24th, okay? The passengers get off the ship. They don't let the people off THE BOAT.

[00:10:14]THEY DON'T LET THE PEOPLE off the boat.

[00:10:16]About 23 to 29 passengers disembark in Saint Helena and travel onward internationally, including the United States and Europe. And this is before authorities fully recognize that there was this outbreak. So, passengers were not adequately warned. Contact tracing, where was that? Nonexistent. You have infected travelers getting off the ship and now going to make contact with other people who are also going to travel other places, okay?

[00:11:45]>> There was one Swiss passenger who left early.

[00:11:49]Who left early, who later tested positive for the hantavirus when they got home. The second death happened on April 26th. So, the wife of the original Dutch passenger that died also dies after being medically evacuated to Johannesburg. So, it took that second death to raise global concern.

[00:12:14]Is just too little, too late.

[00:12:19]We are on our way to another Panasonic.

[00:12:22]We are on our way to another Panasonic.

[00:12:24]It took May 2nd to arrive. For WHO to finally be notified. And for those of you guys who don't know who WHO is, that is the World Health Organization. This is when they are finally notified of people having respiratory issues while on the ship.

[00:12:44]May 2nd.

[00:12:45]May 2nd. Three people have died from a suspected hantavirus outbreak while traveling from Argentina to Cape Verde over the weekend. So, what is the virus and what are the symptoms? Hantavirus refers to a strain of viruses carried by rodents, primarily transmitted to humans by inhaling inhaling airborne particles of their droppings. In rare cases, the virus can also spread between people, according to the World Health Organization. Hantavirus can cause two severe illnesses. One that primarily affects the lungs and the other that attacks the kidneys. First often starts with fatigue, fever, and muscle aches, followed by dizziness, chills, and abdominal issues. One problem here is that these symptoms can be mistaken at the beginning for the flu. If respiratory symptoms develop, the mortality rate is approximately 38%. The illness that affects the kidneys is more severe. Later symptoms can include low blood pressure, internal bleeding, and acute kidney failure. While there's no specific treatment for the hantavirus infections, the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention recommends supportive care to treat symptoms and admission to hospital for more severe cases. So, at this point you have multiple people who are already critically ill. You have three deaths at this point and you have infections that are spanning several countries.

[00:13:56]Johannesburg has been pulled into this potential hantavirus outbreak that happened on this cruise ship in the Atlantic. One of the symptomatic passengers, a British man, was evacuated and is being treated for the virus here after it was confirmed through testing that he does have hantavirus. Now, the cruise ship MV Hondius has put out a statement to say that they're still investigating what is happening on board, that the three symptomatic people on the ship, two of them being crew members, haven't been confirmed to have hantavirus and neither have the three fatalities.

[00:14:27]Now, the wife of one of the victims, the 70-year-old man who died, she died here in Johannesburg after she was passing through the airport to to travel on to the Netherlands where she lives.

[00:14:39]The health department in South Africa said that she collapsed in the airport and later died in nearby health facility. So, there there's still a lot of concern, there's a lack of clarity, but there's a lot of movement of as well. We spoke to the World Health Organization.

[00:14:52]An insider told us that they've been working over the weekend engaging different regional actors and entities to try and contain this as soon as possible. I've also spoken to the National Institute of Communicable Diseases here in South Africa who said that they're in meetings deliberating, figuring out how to engage, but there is there is there has been action, there has been a lot done to try and contain this as soon as possible. We saw the South African Health Department put out the statement last night and today there seems to be a lot of movement to try and move forward effectively. About a third death.

[00:15:26]On May 3rd, they quarantined THE SHIP.

[00:15:29]>> [laughter] >> A MONTH LATER, THREE DEATHS LATER, they quarantined the ship. They quarantined the ship.

[00:15:38]Okay. It's like, are y'all listening TO ME?

[00:15:41]WE ARE HEADED for another Panasonic. So, the vessel becomes stranded near Cape Verde while health officials debate where it can dock, okay? So, WHO and the European health authorities announced confirmed hantavirus cases on board.

[00:15:55]They commenced global contact tracing efforts then as well, and this leaves passengers confined to their cabins, and they start losing their minds. I normally wouldn't make a video like this, but I feel like I need to say something, so I wrote a few things down.

[00:16:12]I am currently on board the MV Hondius, and what's happening right now is very real for all of us here.

[00:16:21]We're not just a story.

[00:16:23]We're not just headlines.

[00:16:25]We're people, people with families, with lives, with people waiting for us at home.

[00:16:35]There's a lot of uncertainty, and that's the hardest part.

[00:16:42]All we want right now is to feel safe, to have clarity, and to get home. So, if you're seeing coverage about this, just remember that there are real people behind it, and that this isn't something happening somewhere far away.

[00:16:58]It's happening to us right now.

[00:17:02]I'll share more when I can, but for now, I just ask for your kindness and understanding. Thank you.

[00:17:08]>> As of May 5th, Cinco de Mayo, and yesterday, May 6th, they started evacuation. So, the seriously ill individuals are evacuated from the ship to Europe for treatment and uh countries including the US, UK, Switzerland, Netherlands, France, South Africa, they begin to monitor these exposed travelers that are returning to their borders.

[00:17:29]But, how about I let y'all know this?

[00:17:31]There was a KLM flight attendant that had to be hospitalized because she was exposed to one of these passengers having the virus. She got sick, had to go to the hospital. The way the hantavirus has already been handled is just like it's like I'm not understanding.

[00:17:49]Like I understand like where we are as far as like America because we we have Robert F. K.

[00:17:57]Robert F. Kennedy Jr. who talks like a freaking human garbage disposal. The United States does not just face a mental health crisis, we face a dependency crisis. He talks like you know how when the DJ be scratching the record? That's how that's how Robert F. K. Jr.

[00:18:16]be speaking.

[00:18:18]Driven by over medicalization.

[00:18:20]>> You just cannot make out what the hell be coming out that man's mouth. Um but, he ain't going to say nothing. He don't care. He's an anti-vaxxer. He's not about to be trying to prevent something like this, okay?

[00:18:32]You know, and then Trump the the Trump administration, they've they've taken away so many programs that handle these types of health risks. So, we're screwed. We're screwed in this country. If it if it's if it's for battling this, we're screwed, okay? I can't speak for other countries, but seeing how they handle this, they're screwed, too.

[00:18:54]Okay? There was a huge delay in the notification of this virus and how it spread on this cruise ship. Mind you, you had three people die and they still they still kept sojourning.

[00:19:05]So, all right. Well, anyway, um we hitting up the Atlantic Ocean tomorrow.

[00:19:09]What?

[00:19:10]>> [laughter] >> Excuse me? How long will this potential quarantine, let's say, last for these passengers? The incubation time for hantavirus is between 1 and 8 weeks.

[00:19:23]8 weeks is a horribly long time Yeah.

[00:19:28]>> right? We have been worried about the the mental health of the passengers, the uncertainty, the unclarity, and how they are feeling to be contained in the port of Cabo Verde for a long time now. You know, a lot of people online have a lot of emotions about what's happening here. Uh many people say that this is why they will never go on a cruise. Um to what extent are cruise ships safe in this regard?

[00:19:58]I would say that this is an exception.

[00:20:02]We know that this boat what had a specific uh profile of people who are very interested in wildlife, and sonatic, [clears throat] and so on.

[00:20:13]And they had been exposed to bird watching in maybe areas where this aerosol dust dust rodent urine or excreta could have been an exposure for them. So, I would say this is a very much of an exception.

[00:20:30]Uh of course, uh in a confined area, you could have outbreaks. Uh that's for sure, but I wouldn't discourage people from going on a cruise because of this very rare and specific event. Hantavirus has reached Singapore with two people suspected of having the deadly disease currently isolating while being tested by doctors. We'll bring you the latest on GB News throughout the day. A new theory is emerging this morning about how the rare outbreak of hantavirus began on a Dutch cruise ship.

[00:21:00]Right now, 40 passengers who were evacuated from the ship have disembarked on Saint Helena. It's a small island in the South Atlantic Ocean. They're expected to begin returning to their home country soon. But so far this outbreak has claimed three lives including a husband and wife. And Good Day is Alex Wittler joins us now with more from the Fox 5 live desk.

[00:21:18]>> Well, the good news is that this hantavirus outbreak is being registered with the World Health Organization. They say none of the passengers on board the cruise ship are showing symptoms.

[00:21:28]Spanish government officials expect the ship to arrive Saturday at the Canary Islands where it'll dock at a port near an airport and then people will head back to their home countries. Now at least two of those passengers are from Georgia and our state's public health department says they've already returned home and they aren't showing virus symptoms. They're also said to be following recommendations from the CDC which says the risk to the American public remains extremely low. Meanwhile, health officials are still investigating exactly how the virus reached the ship.

[00:21:57]Right now the main idea is it could have come from a couple who went bird watching in Argentina. Y'ALL.

[00:22:05]WE IS HEADED FOR THE next Panasonic.

[00:22:09]Hop in the comments. I'm your host Jessie Woo. This is TikToks.

[00:22:15]Speaking of TikTok, am I going to have to get back on?

[00:22:26]Take care of yourselves and each other.

[00:22:28]Yeah. [music] Yeah. [singing] Uh.