Hantavirus and COVID: Similar fears, major differences

A cruise ship hit by a deadly hantavirus outbreak has sparked some fears and concerns just years after the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Three cruise ship passengers have died, and six people with confirmed or suspected cases of hantavirus are being quarantined, according to the world health organization.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed one person from North Carolina was on board and evacuated with all remaining United States passengers to the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s National Quarantine Unit.

What are the facts and what are the actual concerns around the hantavirus and its potential for something bigger? WRAL News reporter Shaun Gallagher spoke with Dr. David Wohl, a Professor of Medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases at the University of North Carolina, about what you need to know.