Differences between COVID-19 and Hantavirus that Must Be Known

The difference between COVID-19 and Hantavirus. (Ron Lach-Pexels)

YOGYAKARTA - COVID-19 and Hantavirus are two types of diseases that are both caused by viral infections. Both diseases have been a concern of the world because they can cause serious health disorders and even cause death. However, although both come from viruses, there are differences between COVID-19 and Hantavirus, ranging from causes, modes of transmission, symptoms, to the level of spread.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit the world, various information about Hantavirus emerged which made some people feel worried. Many people think that Hantavirus will become a new pandemic like COVID-19. In fact, the two diseases have different characteristics. Understanding the difference between COVID-19 and Hantavirus is important so that people are not easily fooled by false information and can know the right prevention methods.

Differences between Covid-19 and Hantavirus

The differences between COVID-19 and Hantavirus are as follows:

Origins

Launching from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), COVID-19 is a disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus infection which was first identified in Wuhan at the end of 2019 and first spread globally in 2020 and then became a pandemic. This virus attacks the human respiratory system and can spread very quickly from one person to another.

Meanwhile, Hantavirus is not a new virus. Hantavirus is a group of zoonotic viruses that have long been known and carried by rodents such as mice. The World Health Organization (WHO) explains that Hantavirus is usually transmitted through exposure to urine, feces, or saliva of infected rats. A person can be infected when inhaling virus-contaminated air particles from the dried feces of rats.

Research related to hantavirus in Indonesia has actually been found for a long time. Kosasih and colleagues' study in 2011 in the journal Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases reported an infection with the Seoul virus, one of the types of Hantavirus, in humans and rats in West Java.

In addition, COVID-19 is caused by a virus from the coronavirus family, while Hantavirus is from the Hantaviridae family. Both viruses have different biological structures and characteristics so that the way they are handled is also not the same.

Transmission

The biggest difference between COVID-19 and hantavirus is in the way it spreads. COVID-19 transmission is very easy to spread between people and generally occurs through respiratory particles when a person coughs, sneezes, talks, breathes, or close contact with an infected person. The virus can spread quickly in homes, offices, schools, public transportation, to closed rooms with poor ventilation.

COVID-19 has evolved into a global pandemic and spread to almost every country in the world because of its ease of transmission. Daily activities such as shaking hands, being in crowds, or touching contaminated objects can increase the risk of transmission if they are not accompanied by good health protocols.

Meanwhile, Hantavirus generally does not spread through everyday human-to-human interactions. Transmission most often occurs when a person breathes in dust contaminated with urine, feces, or saliva of infected rats, for example when cleaning warehouses, empty houses, or enclosed areas with many traces of rats. Citing the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), there are certain types such as the Andes Hantavirus which in rare cases can be transmitted between humans through prolonged close contact.

Hantavirus is not easily transmitted between humans. Most cases of hantavirus occur due to exposure to dirty or rodent-infested environments. Therefore, its spread is much more limited than COVID-19, which can spread quickly through everyday human interactions.

Symptoms

COVID-19 and Hantavirus can indeed look similar because they both cause flu-like symptoms in the early stages. COVID-19 can cause fever, cough, runny nose, sore throat, body aches, and loss of smell. Symptoms can range from mild to severe depending on the body's condition and the infection that occurs.

Meanwhile, Hantavirus usually starts with fever, weakness, muscle pain, headache, chills, nausea, vomiting, to abdominal pain. However, in the advanced phase, Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS) can develop into severe shortness of breath due to the lungs being filled with fluid and potentially fatal.

Incubation period

COVID-19 symptoms generally appear faster after exposure. The CDC says symptoms can appear about 2-14 days after infection. Meanwhile, in Hantavirus, symptoms can appear later, even 1-8 weeks after a person is exposed to a rodent-contaminated environment. Therefore, patients sometimes do not immediately realize that the symptoms that appear are related to activities a few weeks earlier.

Prevention

The second prevention step for these two diseases is also different. COVID-19 is more focused on preventing human-to-human transmission, such as:

Vaccination; Wearing a mask in risky situations; Maintaining ventilation; Washing hands; and Avoiding close contact when sick.

Hantavirus prevention focuses more on reducing exposure to rats and their environment. WHO recommends several steps such as:

Close the gap for rats to enter; Store food tightly; Clean up rat droppings with disinfectant; Wear gloves or masks when cleaning high-risk areas; and Avoid sweeping dry rat droppings so that dust does not fly.

COVID-19 and Hantavirus are two diseases that are both caused by viruses, but have many fundamental differences. The importance of understanding the differences between COVID-19 and Hantavirus is to make people more wise in receiving health information and knowing the right prevention steps. Correct education is very important so that people do not panic easily and can maintain their health and the environment better.

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