Young Hiker SLAMMED for Picking Up Rodent in Hantavirus Hotspot

追加: 2026-05-17

[00:00:07][clears throat] >> A young hiker's video has gone viral for all [music] the wrong reasons after she filmed herself petting a wild rodent in the middle of a hantavirus hotspot.

[00:00:16]Marina [music] Corb happily picks up the small creature during the clip, which she filmed in Argentina's Andean Patagonia region and gushes about [music] how cute and soft it is.

[00:00:26]But the video sparked backlash from viewers who pointed out that the rodent native to the area, the long-tailed pygmy rice rat, [music] is known to spread hantavirus and that the fact that the animal was so willing to be toyed with could point to illness.

[00:00:40]The area in question has been on the public's radar since it was reported that passengers [music] on the MV Hondius hantavirus-infected cruise ship had traveled through Argentina.

[00:00:49]>> [music] >> The Andes strain, which developed in the location, can be spread by a person-to-person transmission. [music] In response, Breanna said the video had been filmed a year earlier and that I didn't know that was the long-tailed mouse that [music] carries the virus. I just saw a very cute little fellow and only that night I found out that people had died that week from an outbreak right there. Spoiler, I survived, she added, according to Newsflash. That little mouse didn't have anything, but don't do this at home.

[00:01:17]She's not the first traveler to be seared on social media for touching a wild animal that could pose harm, like an Irish tourist in Australia who was lucky not to be bitten by this highly venomous octopus.

[00:01:33]Or a British man who also unknowingly [music] handled a blue-ringed octopus, which happens to be one of the deadliest animals in [music] the world, while vacationing in the Philippines. It's a baby octopus. [music] It's beautiful.

[00:01:45]Look at all that blue.

[00:01:47]All the good reminder, just because it's pretty or cute doesn't mean it's a good idea to pet it, pick it up, or even [music] attempt a selfie.

[00:01:57]>> Ooh.