Hantavirus
Hantaviruses spread when people breathe in dust contaminated with rodent droppings or urine, and can cause severe kidney or lung illness depending on the region.
Snapshot: 9/21/2026, 3:30:49 PM · 1 tracked locations · 976 active cases (dataset)
At a glance
Quick facts
- How it spreads
- Inhalation of aerosolized particles from rodent urine, droppings, or nests is classic; bite risk is lower but possible.
- How serious
- About 8.7 of every 100 confirmed cases died
- Where it's active
- Highest current burden: Chile (CL).
- Vaccine / treatment
- Ventilate before cleaning, use respirators when disturbing infested material, and professional rodent control in high-risk structures.
Important
Virus Tracker provides aggregated outbreak monitoring for education and situational awareness. It is not medical advice, a diagnostic service, or a substitute for guidance from qualified health professionals or official public health agencies. Always consult licensed clinicians and authoritative sources for personal health decisions.
Overview
Rodent reservoirs shed virus chronically. Human risk rises when cleaning closed spaces with active infestations. Virus Tracker includes representative regional metrics where syndromic data is mirrored in open feeds.
Transmission
Inhalation of aerosolized particles from rodent urine, droppings, or nests is classic; bite risk is lower but possible.
Symptoms & clinical notes
Febrile prodrome progressing to capillary leak syndromes with pulmonary or renal involvement depending on virus species.
Prevention & control
Ventilate before cleaning, use respirators when disturbing infested material, and professional rodent control in high-risk structures.
Surveillance context
Environmental health inspections complement case reporting; occupational health tracks at-risk workers.
Live dataset
Key metrics
Active cases
976
Deaths
420
How fast it's spreading
28.3%
RisingHantavirus — global infection heat map
Country shading reflects relative active-case intensity from the current Virus Tracker dataset for this pathogen. Hover countries on desktop for counts.
Darker red = more people currently sick.
Live dataset
Trajectory outlook
Projected case trend with a modeled confidence range.
Projected case trajectory for Hantavirus, with a shaded confidence range, based on the current Virus Tracker dataset.
Illustrative estimateLive dataset
Top regions by active cases
The 1 tracked location with the most active Hantavirus cases in the current dataset.
Top 1 tracked location for Hantavirus by active cases, ranked highest to lowest.
Live dataset
Threat intelligence visuals
Threat matrix
How fast vs. how deadly
Each bubble is a threat. Bigger bubbles mean more people are currently sick.
Where this data comes from
11 of 15 sources are reporting normally.
- 11 healthy sourcesHealthy
- 4 sources downDown
- Data reliability
- 42%
- Confidence-adjusted exposure
- 410
Overall threat level
Where it's hitting hardest
- Chile976 active · score 20.4
Dataset
Top affected regions
| Location | Active | Deaths | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chile (CL) | 976 | 420 | Stable |
Frequently asked questions
How do people catch hantavirus?
Mainly by breathing in dust stirred up from rodent droppings, urine, or nesting material, often while cleaning sheds, cabins, or storage areas with rodent activity.
Can hantavirus spread between people?
Generally no, with the exception of one South American strain (Andes virus) where limited person-to-person spread has been documented.
Is there a vaccine or treatment?
No vaccine is widely available. Treatment is supportive care, often in an intensive care setting for severe cases, so prevention through rodent control is key.
Is this page medical advice?
Virus Tracker provides aggregated outbreak monitoring for education and situational awareness. It is not medical advice, a diagnostic service, or a substitute for guidance from qualified health professionals or official public health agencies. Always consult licensed clinicians and authoritative sources for personal health decisions.
What does "outbreak activity" mean on Virus Tracker?
Outbreak activity reflects active-case burden relative to recoveries in our models. It helps compare stressed outbreak zones within the dataset—it is not a clinical score.
How often is this wiki updated?
Figures refresh on the site’s ingestion and revalidation schedule (typically about every 30 minutes in production). Timestamps on the dashboard snapshot indicate the last build of the underlying dataset.
Why might the heat map not match official government totals?
We merge multiple open sources and fallbacks; reporting lag, testing policy, and geographic coverage differ by country. Use national health ministries for authoritative case definitions.
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