What hantavirus is and how deadly it can be
A deadly outbreak aboard a cruise ship in the southern Atlantic has cast a spotlight on hantavirus, a rodent-borne disease that can prove fatal when it infects humans.
Dutch cruise operator Oceanwide Expeditions said it was handling "a serious medical situation" on board the MV Hondius, which was sailing from Argentina to Cape Verde.
Hantaviruses belong to a group of pathogens capable of triggering respiratory and cardiac complications, along with haemorrhagic fevers.
No vaccine or targeted treatment exists for hantaviruses,…