Doctor Valeriu Gheorghiță, former coordinator of the national vaccination campaign against COVID-19, published an information message on the risks associated with hantaviruses. Although infections are rare, they can cause severe illness and require treatment in intensive care units.
What are hantaviruses and how are they transmitted?
Hantaviruses are transmitted by rodents, and infection most commonly occurs by inhaling dust contaminated with urine, feces, or saliva from infected animals. The risk is higher when cleaning infested attics, cellars, sheds or cabins, but also during activities carried out in nature, such as camping, agriculture or forestry, according to the WHO.
“Human-to-human transmission is extremely rare. It has only been clearly documented for the Andes virus in certain regions of South America,” said doctor Valeriu Gheorghiță.
What symptoms may occur
In the initial phase, the disease may present with flu-like symptoms such as fever, muscle aches, headache, nausea or vomiting.
In severe forms, however, severe complications can occur, including lung damage with breathing difficulties, circulatory disorders and shock, but also acute kidney failure.
The doctor draws attention to the importance of early diagnosis, explaining that some forms can worsen in a very short time. “Some forms can worsen quickly, in just a few hours. Prompt presentation to a doctor can save the patient’s life,” he transmitted.
There is no specific treatment
There is currently no universally effective specific antiviral treatment against hantaviruses, and therapy is mainly supportive. This may include oxygen administration, mechanical ventilation, ICU monitoring, circulatory and renal support, and in extremely severe cases the use of ECMO may be necessary.
For prevention, Valeriu Gheorghiță recommends avoiding contact with rodents and their droppings, ventilating closed spaces before cleaning, wetting surfaces before sweeping to prevent inhalation of contaminated particles, as well as using FFP2 or FFP3 masks and gloves in high-risk spaces.
Regarding the lack of a vaccine, the doctor explains that its development is hampered by the great diversity of hantaviruses, by the fact that protective immunity is not yet fully understood, but also by the small and geographically dispersed number of cases. However, research continues, including in the direction of vaccines developed on modern platforms such as mRNA and viral vectors.
A flight attendant hospitalized after coming into contact with a patient infected with hantavirus
Hantavirus infection – official clarifications and the real level of risk to the population
In Romania, the monitoring of hantavirus infections is carried out at the regional level, through the national system for the surveillance of communicable diseases, coordinated by the National Institute of Public Health, in eight counties: Bacău, Botoșani, Iași, Vaslui, Vrancea, Suceava, Neamț and Galați.
According to the methodology established by the National Institute of Public Health (INSP), a suspected case is defined by the presence of acute fever associated with kidney damage and/or hemorrhagic manifestations, under the conditions of a suggestive epidemiological context. The diagnosis is confirmed by the identification of specific antibodies or by other laboratory tests.
Official data shows that in the period 2023–2026, 15 cases of hantavirus infection have been reported in Romania: four cases in 2023, three in 2024, seven in 2025 and one case recorded so far this year.
Eliminating or minimizing contact with rodents is the best way to prevent infection, the INSP website states.
Hantavirus outbreak on MV Hondius
A rare outbreak of hantavirus aboard the MV Hondius cruise ship has drawn the attention of international health authorities after three passengers died, while at least five others were confirmed to be infected. Health authorities have introduced isolation and quarantine measures for people who came into contact with infected passengers to try to limit the spread of the outbreak.
