Why India should be worried about HANTA Virus? Doctor explains everything

Añadido: 2026-05-09

[00:00:00]If humanto human transmission is there that is very dangerous and that's what is found in this current uh ship episode where some people are getting infected from other human beings. Until yesterday we were not much worried but today it has been reported that there are two Indians which are part of the crew on that uh ship. So those two Indians will obviously come back to India. We cannot deny them entry. We have to treat them.

[00:00:24]Ha respiratory syndrome. So that is almost killer in 40% people. Out of 100 people infected with this getting this uh syndrome 40 will die. We are worried number one there is no cure on this.

[00:00:38]Number two there is no preventive vaccine on this.

[00:00:41]>> What do we know about antirus till now?

[00:00:43]>> See antivirus is not a new virus. It is a old virus. It was first found in 1950 when there were American troops were there deployed in Korea. So it was first found there. Then again in 1990 when there were uh some moments of other people in Argentina and the southern America some American people contracted and that was known in America. So twice it was known earlier 19 1950 and 1991.

[00:01:10]Currently there's a ship called MV Honduras that ship has started which is a Dutch ship which initially started from Argentina and it is going from the different islands which are not touched by lot of people. So very remote islands and currently it is near Africa and now they got a permission to dock it in Spain otherwise nobody was giving permission. There are almost 150 people on board out of which three died and three others who are already deboarded.

[00:01:40]They are found positive. Now the hunter virus has two different varieties. Firstly virus is the virus of rodents. Rodent means rats or squirrels. So it is in forest rodents then it comes to domestic rodents and then from there it can go to human being. So uh it is called zunotic infection that animal uh infection coming from animal or birds to human being is called zunotic. Now if humanto human transmission is there that is very dangerous and that's why the andis variety of this hunter virus that can give infection from human to human and that's what is found in this current uh ship episode where some people are getting infected from other human beings. It has a incubation period of 4 to 8 weeks. So people getting infected almost 4 weeks or 5 weeks before they will start showing symptom now but during the first week also they are infectious to others. So somebody who picked up from Argentina boarded the ship and they are infecting others or there were rats on the ship they were infected they were infecting one two people rats were multiplying rats were infecting among themsel from there it is coming to human being and human to human. So what is worry is that the people from 27 countries on board and they will go to 27 different countries if and when they are recovered or they want to go and get treatment over there.

[00:03:07]So they can carry the virus. If that virus goes to local people there it can become a big problem. So scientists who other organizations they're worried that it should not spill over to becoming a major problem.

[00:03:21]>> So how concerned should India be in these? We have experienced plague also in the past.

[00:03:26]>> Yeah.

[00:03:26]>> So how concerned should we have?

[00:03:27]>> You see uh India is a one sixth of the population. So every sixth in the world is Indian. So any problem comes small or big, India has to be worried because we are a big big population. Uh to give a simple example, India's population is double than entire subsaharan Africa which is 50 countries. So India one country is more than 100 countries in Africa. So that is the situation with India. Until yesterday we were not much worried but today it has been reported that there are two Indians which are part of the crew on that uh ship. So those two Indians will obviously come back to India. We cannot deny them entry. we have to treat them and therefore if they they come we need to take extra precautions to see that infection from them doesn't go elsewhere otherwise also the people one one person is from Singapore one is from UK though they already deboarded and deembarked they gone to their countries or Indians are in Singapore they come and back and forth so currently with the kind of moment through air water or road problem of one country becomes problem of the whole world and therefore we being scientists we we have seen what has happened in covid what has happened in Spanish flu almost 100 years before how many million people died so we should be worried >> sir what's the treatment protocol for this if someone is infected so we like to understand what's the treatment protocol for this >> see there are two parts one is symptomatic treatment because in antirus or any other viral infection the symptoms are initially very simple symptoms like fever cuff loose motion omitting headache Then it start respiratory distress. So breathlessness. Now in this current and virus variety there's a respiratory syndrome which is called hunter respiratory syndrome. So that is almost killer in 40% people. Out of 100 people infected with this getting this syndrome 40 will die. And the other part which can give other syndromes which are called hemoragic fever and renal syndrome. So hemorogic fur means there'll be omitting with blood.

[00:05:32]There'll be urine or stool with blood.

[00:05:34]So there'll be lot of hemoric or hemoric spot on the skin or there'll be renal failure, kidney failure. However, as compared to respiratory syndrome, those other syndromes are easy to manage because in kidney we can do diialysis take the person out. So therefore the death rate in that is only 15% or less than 15%. So we are worried number one there is no cure on this. Number two, there is no preventive vaccine on this.

[00:05:59]Number three, there are some trials of reeba varin which can be tried uh here also which were tried in other viral infection that can be done but otherwise the symptom symptomatic treatment syndromeic treatment if respiratory stage is there ventilator putting ICU fluid replacement these are the only treatment available and therefore we have to keep finger crossed we have to safeguard the interest of healthare workers doctors nurses technicians boys wise everybody will be at risk so So they have to use PPE kit so that they should not get infected. They should not carry that infection to other patients and other healthare staff.

[00:06:36]>> Sir as WH also conducted a press conference on hunter virus. So what exactly it is?

[00:06:44]>> You see hunter viral disease is a viral disease. It spread by a group of uh viruses and the recent episode which has uh kind of uh uh alarmed the people. It happened in the cruise and this infection is not not new. Uh this virus is present since long and the first time it was discovered in 50s in Korea and based on the river name in Korea, it has been named as henta virus. So it's a viral illness. It's a virus which causes this illness.

[00:07:14]>> So if we do comparison with the covid-19 which was highly transmissible.

[00:07:19]>> So what do you think is it like something it transmit through human to human? If it transmits what is the processes?

[00:07:27]>> Okay, a very good question you have asked because uh many people they comparing it with the covid they are getting panic. See covid was a new virus. We were not knowing anything about the covid and the mode of transmission was through respiratory root. Here uh mainly this virus is spread through rodents, rat, mouse and other rodents right and their feces their urine their droppings and uh human to human there are uh some cases reported from one of the virus known as virus and it's very rare it's not common very rare and mainly in the south America region so uh but otherwise human to human is not there mainly it's through rodents to human. Those who are exposed to rodents who work in that industry where they the cleaning of you know uh rodent infested area or they work in area where there's lot of rodents there are chances that they may get the infection but from infected human very rare only one virus among all these viruses which may lead to humanto human transmission.

[00:08:34]>> So sir what are the symptoms?

[00:08:37]See uh they are not uh they are non-specific but the main symptoms are fatigue they are fever there can be nausea there can be vomiting diarrhea abdominal pain and uh there may be muscular pain joint pain depending on the kind of virus which is there may be symptoms related with the lungs pulmonary symptoms there may be symptoms related with kidney I mean the severe cases the kidney may be involved urine output may be low so these are the main symptoms with this virus >> sir there are Two Indian nationals also which were already present in in the cruise they also infected from the virus. Do you think India should be worried?

[00:09:14]Uh I don't know whether they are infected the report I mean maybe uh what report I have they are the crew members and they were in that their ship they might have been exposed to the infection whether they infected or not that information I don't have at the moment but even if they are infected I mean they might be isolated by this time and they uh so I don't think there's any chance of getting spread in India there's no pandemic threat no epidemic IC threat and people they should not worry there there's no need for the panic. Uh the good thing is uh Indians they are uh very uh uh like the they have they want all the information for all the disease through media and other places and that is good. Getting information is a really good thing. You should be well informed. You should have information but getting panic is something wrong. And I think there comes a role of media that spread the right information from the right sources so that public they can make informed decision and they are aware but not panic. So for India I don't see there's any public health threat nothing to worry information if they want they can get from the media from Ministry of Health website ICMR or the WH any scientific website they can get the right information no need for panic.