Japan Calls for Calm Response to Hantavirus, Citing Low Risk

Tokyo, May 18 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese government is calling for a calm response to an overseas hantavirus outbreak, citing the lack of rodents that carry the virus in the country. “There’ll be no immediate impact,” the government said, following the hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship during a voyage in the Atlantic Ocean. The outbreak has led to three deaths. Hantavirus is carried by some mice, and humans can be infected in unusual cases if they are bitten by the mice or inhale the dust of their excrement, according to the World Health Organization and other sources. Infections have been found in Asia, Europe and North America. The total annual number of infections is estimated at 10,000 to 100,000. There is no remedy for the disease, only symptomatic treatment. In order to prevent infection, avoiding rodents and maintaining hygiene nearby, along with safe preservation of food, are important. Wearing masks is also considered effective. Symptoms caused by hantavirus differ, depending on the region. In North America, hantavirus causes fever, coughs and serious respiratory diseases. The fatality rate is 10-50 pct. But in Japan, there are no types of rodent that carry the virus. No infection has been confirmed in the country. In contrast, Andes virus, a type of hantavirus found in Argentina and Chile, can be transmitted from person to person. This type was found on the cruise ship. Tomoya Saito, head of the infectious disease risk management department of the Japan Institute for Health Security, said that the type can be transmitted through aerosols but that such infection only happens as a result of very close proximity or long hours of contact. The incubation period of the type is one to seven weeks. There is almost no infectivity before symptoms appear, and it is strongest right afterward. The infectivity is “far lower than with COVID-19 or influenza viruses,” Saito said. “It’s not that infections are spreading globally from the outbreak in the cruise ship,” he added. “The possibility is low that infection occurs and spreads in Japan.” Health minister Kenichiro Ueno told the press last week that the countries related to the cruise ship outbreak are handling the situation properly, and that the WHO has concluded that the risk is low in terms of public health. “We think that there will be no immediate and significant impact on our country,” he said. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]