ALBAWABA - Hantavirus has been one of the top searched topics on the internet in the past few days after the announcement of three deaths from the virus, which was detected on a cruise ship.
The World Health Organization (WHO) announced Sunday that three people have died of a suspected outbreak of the hantavirus on a cruise ship.
Oceanwide Expeditions, the company which owns the ship where the virus spread, said earlier, "Two crew members on board require urgent medical care."
The cruise left from Argentina weeks ago with around 150 people on board, making stops in Antarctica and other destinations en route to Cape Verde.
A post in 2022 predicted Hantavirus in 2026:
An X user called "Soothsayer" [which means a person who claims to foresee or predict the future], posted back in 2022 that they predicted the COVID-19 pandemic to end in 2023. The coronavirus started in 2019 in China and spread rapidly worldwide, killing more than 7 million people.
The post noted that it forecast a new pandemic would be caused by a virus called "Hantavirus". Soothsayer wrote on their X account on June 10, 2022, "2023: Corona ended
2026: Hantavirus".
Social media users are now reacting to the post after the spread of the Hantavirus on the cruise ship. One commented, "All these MF time travelers. All I need them is give me a ticket."
Another said, "Found this article from 2021, 'Next Pandemic: Hantavirus' on Bill Gates website. We are cooked!"
However, several others didn't believe what they saw, claiming the post was edited and that it was fake.
What is Hantavirus?
According to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), Hantavirus is a respiratory virus transmitted to humans through contact with rodent droppings and saliva, either by inhalation or direct contact.
The IFRC notes that transmission through direct contact with infected individuals is very rare.
Symptoms of Hantavirus include fever, fatigue, chills, and muscle aches as primary symptoms, in addition to headache, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and sometimes diarrhea. Coughing and shortness of breath may appear in later stages.
The IFRC recommends rodent control measures as a key way to reduce the spread of Hantavirus.
Hantavirus symptoms:
