ICMR says Hantavirus cases isolated, no immediate health threat to India

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has said that reported hantavirus cases involving two Indian nationals are isolated incidents and do not pose an immediate public health threat to India.

Dr Naveen Kumar, Director of the ICMR’s National Institute of Virology (NIV), said on Friday that there is no evidence of community transmission and the situation remains under control.

His statement came after reports that two Indian passengers aboard a cruise ship were detected with hantavirus infection. The World Health Organization (WHO) is monitoring the situation and has described the overall public health risk as low.

According to health experts, hantavirus is primarily transmitted from animals to humans, particularly through contact with infected rodents or exposure to their droppings, urine, or saliva.

Dr Kumar explained that infection usually occurs when people inhale aerosolised particles from contaminated environments such as warehouses, ships, barns, or poorly ventilated storage spaces.

He clarified that unlike respiratory viruses such as COVID-19, hantavirus does not spread easily between humans.

“Human-to-human transmission is extremely uncommon,” he said, adding that only rare strains in South America have shown limited person-to-person spread.

The WHO has also stated that hantavirus infections are rare and typically linked to rodent exposure rather than sustained human transmission. However, officials noted that additional cases cannot be ruled out due to the incubation period of the virus.

Dr Kumar said symptoms usually appear one to five weeks after exposure and may initially resemble flu-like illness. Common symptoms include fever, severe body aches, fatigue, chills, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and dry cough.

In severe cases, patients may develop breathing difficulties, low blood pressure, or kidney-related complications.

On India’s preparedness, the ICMR confirmed that diagnostic facilities are available through the National Institute of Virology and a nationwide network of 165 Viral Research and Diagnostic Laboratories capable of confirming suspected cases using RT-PCR testing.

Health authorities have advised people working in rodent-prone environments to maintain hygiene and avoid exposure to contaminated areas as a precautionary measure.