Hantavirus expert: “Why this is not the next Covid”

As reports emerged of suspected human-to-human transmission of the Andes virus, memories of the early days of COVID-19 quickly returned: cruise ships under quarantine, international evacuations, and alarmist headlines. But according to Canadian virologist Bryce Warner, the scientific reality is profoundly different. Warner, a research scientist at the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization at the University of Saskatchewan, offered a measured but unequivocal assessment. He framed the current cases within decades of virological evidence while pushing back against pandemic comparisons. “The Andes virus is the only hantavirus where we've had previous documented human-to-human transmission,” Warner explained. However, he immediately tempered the alarm with a crucial distinction: “That transmission efficiency is still pretty low.” This low transmission efficiency means the Andes virus poses far less risk of causing a widespread outbreak like COVID-19. Warner’s assessment reassures the public that, while vigilance is warranted, the current situation does not signal a new global health crisis.