{"id":113,"date":"2026-05-15T10:05:09","date_gmt":"2026-05-15T10:05:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=113"},"modified":"2026-05-15T10:05:09","modified_gmt":"2026-05-15T10:05:09","slug":"hawaii-doctor-hantavirus-is-not-the-next-pandemic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=113","title":{"rendered":"Hawaii doctor: Hantavirus \u2018is not the next pandemic\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
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HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – When word of three fatalities linked to a hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship made headlines, many questions arose about how the virus spreads.<\/p>\n

Read more Maui man dies after crashing into school bus<\/a><\/p>\n

One medical expert says this is different from COVID-19.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know about it, but it\u2019s not something to worry about. This is not the next pandemic,\u201d said Dr. Scott Miscovich, an infectious disease expert.<\/p>\n

Miscovich explained that Hantavirus, originating from infected rodents, isn\u2019t a new disease. He said it\u2019s more difficult to catch than COVID, and the virus also doesn\u2019t mutate as frequently to create wild new variants.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

While human-to-human transmission has been documented with the Andes strain, cases have remained relatively low.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the Americas, we\u2019ve had over the last 15 years or so, I think it\u2019s 893 cases. In Europe, annually, is anywhere from 2,500 to 3,000 cases,\u201d Dr. Miscovich said. \u201cThis has been around a long time. If it was going to take off, it had every opportunity to do so.\u201d<\/p>\n

Many Hawaii residents, like Waialua resident Theresa Widmer, weren\u2019t too concerned about Hantavirus and are listening closely to medical experts.<\/p>\n

Read more Visitor accused of hurling rock at Hawaiian monk seal appears in court<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cUntil I see numbers changing, I\u2019m just being conservative and watching,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

When Maui resident Deborah Waltrip was asked if she was concerned, she said no, adding, \u201cBecause you have to have super close contact. And I don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kailua\u2019s Jamie Pang was a bit worried, saying, \u201cThe last time there was a virus, we were on lockdown.\u201d<\/p>\n

While the COVID pandemic is still fresh in many people\u2019s minds, some say the lessons learned then can help guide communities now.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the COVID reaction initially was probably too extreme as far as isolating everybody. Certainly, be cautious of where you\u2019re going,\u201d Widmer said. \u201cStaying home if you feel sick, I think, was sufficient enough. I think we learned going through that that parts of it were extreme.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Honolulu police chief finalists answer questions in live PBS forum<\/a><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Some residents also said they weren\u2019t too concerned about the virus.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":112,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-113","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nHawaii doctor: Hantavirus \u2018is not the next pandemic\u2019 - Hawaii Moving Insider<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=113\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Hawaii doctor: Hantavirus \u2018is not the next pandemic\u2019 - Hawaii Moving Insider\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Some residents also said they weren\u2019t too concerned about the virus.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=113\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Hawaii Moving Insider\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-15T10:05:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=113#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=113\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/590d72f16cb0f571fd45812a3c7ea1d0\"},\"headline\":\"Hawaii doctor: Hantavirus \u2018is not the next pandemic\u2019\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-15T10:05:09+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=113\"},\"wordCount\":361,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=113#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/e34ff67fbe3400af9979aeb731a725c2.avif\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=113#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=113\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=113\",\"name\":\"Hawaii doctor: Hantavirus \u2018is not the next pandemic\u2019 - 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