In early April, several passengers on a cruise ship became sick with hantavirus, which can cause severe illness and death. By May, three deaths had been confirmed, and the story gained international attention as dozens of potentially exposed passengers returned to their home countries to quarantine. Social media users stoked fears of a hantavirus pandemic, despite health experts’ assurances that the threat to the general public is very low. Some online speculated that governments would reinstitute COVID-19 pandemic measures, such as lockdowns, masks, and vaccine mandates. Others promoted false claims that COVID-19 vaccines cause hantavirus and that vaccine manufacturers create disease outbreaks. Online discourse about hantavirus reflected a broader lack of trust in health authorities, health care providers, and public health guidance. The death of a Colorado man from a hantavirus infection unrelated to the cruise outbreak intensified these sentiments.
Recommendation
The hantavirus cruise outbreak is fueling the spread of false and misleading information, which may cause confusion and distrust, particularly as confidence in health authorities continues to decline. Messaging may explain that hantaviruses are a group of viruses typically spread by rodents, although some strains can rarely spread between humans through prolonged, close contact. Health communicators may reiterate public health expert assurances that the virus currently poses little risk to the general public and that there is no threat of a hantavirus pandemic.
Fact-checking sources: Public Good News, Nebraska Medicine
Communication resources: What to know and communicate about hantavirus
