What to know about the deadly hantavirus

“A deadly outbreak linked to the Dutch-flagged luxury cruise ship MV Hondius has brought renewed attention to hantavirus after the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed three people dead and 11 reported cases connected to the vessel as of Wednesday. Health officials say the virus — believed to be the Andes variant — can carry a fatality rate of up to 40 percent in severe cases. But where did hantavirus originate, how did hantavirus get its name, what are the symptoms and treatments? Q. Where did hantavirus come from? A. Hantavirus was first identified in the Hantan River area in Korea. It infected more than 3,200 United Nations soldiers during the 1950-53 Korean War near the current inter-Korean border. Late Korean virologist Lee Ho-wang first identified hantavirus from a rodent captured near the Hantan River, which runs through the northern parts of Gangwon and Gyeonggi provinces, and helped develop the world’s first vaccine against the disease. He first named it the Hantaan virus, which became more commonly known as hantavirus. Q. How do you get hantavirus? A. Humans can contr

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