Trump speaks out on controlling hantavirus outbreak as people share concerns it's the next Covid

Donald Trump has spoken out amid people's concerns about hantavirus spreading to the US after health officials said that America isn't prepared for an outbreak.

There have been concerns that we could be on the brink of another global pandemic following a hantavirus outbreak onboard a Dutch cruise ship that has so far claimed the lives of three people.

Amid people's fears, the World Health Organization has said that the virus is 'not the next Covid'.

WHO epidemic expert Maria Van Kerkhove said, per Sky News: "This is not the next Covid, but it is a serious infectious disease. Most people will never be exposed to this."

It's believed that the strain of hantavirus that has spread on the ship is the Andes virus, which has an alarming 40 percent mortality rate.

The MV Hondius was carrying around 150 passengers at the time of the outbreak (AFP via Getty Images)

Elsewhere she affirmed: "This is an outbreak on a ship and we do not anticipate a large epidemic."

Despite the WHO's reassurance, people are still undeniably nervous and President Trump was recently grilled about the virus from reporters.

"It's very much, we hope, under control," he said of the hantavirus outbreak, per Fox News. "There was the ship and I think we're going to make a full report on it tomorrow. We have a lot of great people studying it."

He added: "It should be fine – we hope."

When pressed further about it spreading in and around the US, Trump said that they'll do 'the best we can' to make sure that doesn't happen.

Donald Trump has spoken out about the hantavirus outbreak (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

It's fortunate that it appears to be unlikely that hantavirus will cause another pandemic because Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo, CEO of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, says the country is 'not prepared' to handle a hantavirus outbreak because of funding and staffing cuts made by the Trump administration.

"All of these things are really have profound, ripple effects," she said of the cuts to USA Today. "This is a situation where you really are seeing crystalized the need for bio-preparedness."

The WHO have recently shared advice on how people can prevent the spread of the virus.

It says that people should be:

• keeping homes and workplaces clean
• sealing openings that allow rodents to enter buildings
• storing food securely
• using safe cleaning practices in areas contaminated by rodents
• avoiding dry sweeping or vacuuming rodent droppings
• dampening of contaminated areas before cleaning
• strengthening hand hygiene practices

There are things people can be doing to stop the spread of the virus (Getty Stock Image)

The symptoms of the Andes strain of hantavirus and how it spreads

The Andes strain of hantavirus is very rare. Microbiologist Dr Gustavo Palacios told CNN there have only ever been 3,000 known cases.

It is the only documented form of hantavirus with human-to-human transmission. One study showed that window for patients to be infectious was about a day, when they develop a fever. But they also found it was transmissible through only brief proximity to an infected person.

Andes virus (ANDV) is primarily found in South America and has a high fatality rate, between 20 and 40 percent. It can cause hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS), which attacks the lungs. Symptoms start one to eight weeks after infection and the first signs can include:

• Fatigue
• Fever
• Muscles aches
• Headaches
• Dizziness
• Chills
• Nausea and vomiting
• Diarrhoea

Later symptoms include:

• Coughing
• Shortness of breath

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