Hantavirus: Infected person dies on bus in China; other passengers tested - report

Hantavirus is a previously known family of viruses and is spread mainly by rodents and can cause varied disease syndromes in people but the cases of person-to-person transmission are rare.

A person from China's Yunnan Province, who tested positive for hantavirus, died on a chartered bus on Monday, according to a report by the Global Times. The report also added that 32 other passengers of the bus were also tested.

The news, which was reported on Tuesday, has gone viral on social media amid the scare of coronavirus pandemic and thousands of people are tweeting about it but not all of it is true.

Hantavirus is a previously known family of viruses and is spread mainly by rodents (rats) and can cause varied disease syndromes in people but the cases of person-to-person transmission are rare, according to the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

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"In Chile and Argentina, rare cases of person-to-person transmission have occurred among close contacts of a person who was ill with a type of hantavirus called Andes virus," says CDC.

In most cases, hantavirus is spread when virus-containing particles from rodent urine, droppings, or saliva are stirred into the air, according to CDC. This means there are very low chances that this virus will spread further since person-to-person transmission is rare.

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The coronavirus outbreak has fuelled a lot of fake news due to the huge number of people it has affected. From fake DIY detection tests to herbal remedies for curing the novel virus, social media platforms are being flooded with misinformation but it's important to stay informed and rely on credible sources of information at this time. Follow our Live Discourse for the latest updates on COVID-19.

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More than 377,000 people have been infected by the coronavirus across the world and 16,500 have died due to novel coronavirus and hundreds of cities have imposed strict lockdowns to try to contain the outbreak.