Why Hantavirus Can Turn Deadly So Fast

Added: 2026-05-20

[00:00:00]There has been recent reporting about the Hivirus on a cruise ship. Several are critically ill, a few are dead. What do we need to know about it? The hivirus isn't usually something you can catch from other humans and it's not given and passed very casually. How it's primarily spread is through rodent droppings, urine or saliva. When those particles become airborne, people can breathe them in and that's how the infection happens.

[00:00:26]So, for it to be on a cruise ship is somewhat strange. In the US, where we usually see it is through deer mice droppings, which is why we usually see this in like cabins, sheds, camping, places that have have been like closed up for a while or like they're seasonally used, not on cruise ships.

[00:00:46]The reason why it can be so dangerous and why I'm talking about it today is because I think it's important to know what's out there, how to keep yourself safe. And the reason why this virus is so scary at times is because it can go from like nothing, meaning like h just a little flu-l like symptoms, fever, you know, you just feel like uh like you have the flu. But it can turn very quickly into a respiratory issue into a respiratory failure which is why it can lead to death. It can go from like ah I have flu-l like symptoms to like whoa I'm critically ill and then whoa I've died. Hence why on this cruise ship I think it's been so serious and now this is me just thinking in my nursing brain because it goes from I feel like I have the flu to critically ill but now you're on a cruise ship, right? So you don't have everything at your disposal. You get critically ill and then you might need to be intimated. All the things like you can do in an ICU. I don't know what they have there on the cruise ship.

[00:01:45]Do they need to be flown out? I think they have to. Or so you can quickly go from not that sick to death. And that's why it's so serious. By the time you are critically ill and then possibly dying, you have the havirus pulmonary syndrome, which is where you suddenly have severe lung failure. This can progress very quickly within several days and uh you can die within those days. What's up, guys? I'm taking a quick break to let you know that I started a new podcast.

[00:02:13]It's called It's Okay, we're all going to die. This is where I'm going to be interviewing people from all walks of life about life and death. It's meant to inspire you and get the conversation about life and death going. So, check it out. We upload here every Tuesday on YouTube and I'll upload it wherever you get your favorite podcasts. Back to the episode. So, the cruise ship is making headlines because of the why. Why has this happened on the cruise ship? Why has there been people affected? How many people are affected? We all know cruise ships, there's a lot of people in close quarters. Is that going to affect how this is spread? Now, like I said before, the hivirus is not typically spread from person to person. However, there are rare strains that can lead to person to person. Again, I I I don't want to make this video about scaring people. It's more about informing people about why this matters and why you're seeing this in the news. It's not typical to be on a cruise ship. It's alarming to see how many people have gotten sick on the cruise ship. I believe three have died and three have been lifellighted out.

[00:03:15]So, that is a pretty significant amount for one cruise ship with one virus. And it's going to be interesting and and it's important to start seeing how it's being spread and what's going on. Now the mortality rate for this virus is 30 to 40% but that is only in severe cases.

[00:03:32]The reason why that is so high is one it's hard to catch early because it seems just like the flu. Okay? So you seem just like the flu and the reason why it gets so serious so quick is because that's how it works. You seem like you just have the flu. It's hard to catch it early. You don't automatically think the antivirus. Then next thing you know the person's having respiratory distress. They're in respiratory failure. They need to be intubated and sedated and they're either going to get better or they're not. That's why it can be scary. Do you need to be worried about this?

[00:04:00]I think it's important to understand it and know what's happening. Know where they're finding cases in the world because they are. They just found another case in Switzerland. And this man did have a rare version of the Hepa virus which is human to human spread.

[00:04:14]Overall, I don't think this is like a huge worry for for us. This is a rare virus. It's very rare to be spread from human to human. It's not something you typically see. If you were going to get it, you'd most likely get it from like rodentinfested places like old campsites, old cabins, really dusty enclosed spaces. So, if I guess if you're frequently in those spaces, maybe think about it, right? But generally speaking, especially at this time, I guess the one thing you could do would be stay away from really crowded places, airports where there's a lot of travel.

[00:04:50]But also, I think that might even be taking it a little a little too far. And I think it's just good to be aware of what's happening around you and that the HTO virus exists.