Hungary currently faces no direct epidemiological threat from hantavirus infections, Health Minister Hegedűs Zsolt said in a Facebook post on Sunday night, following reports in recent days about a case in Romania’s Arad County.
The minister stressed that hantavirus is a real and serious infection, but the current situation represents a low public health risk.
‘There are no known infected individuals in Hungary, and no known Hungarian citizens who may have come into contact with any person affected by the outbreak, so there is no direct domestic epidemiological threat,’ he wrote.
According to the minister, most hantaviruses do not spread from person to person. Infection usually occurs through inhalation of dust contaminated with the urine, droppings, or saliva of infected rodents.
Hegedűs emphasized that there is currently no reason for panic in Hungary. Between 2015 and 2024, only between two and 16 hantavirus infections were registered annually in the country.
He noted that the hantavirus strains found in Hungary are primarily the European Puumala and Dobrava-Belgrade variants. The more dangerous ‘New World’ strains found in the Americas do not naturally occur in Hungary.
The minister added that the high mortality rate of around 30 to 50 per cent is mainly associated with severe diseases caused by the Andes virus and other New World hantaviruses in the Americas. In Hungary, hantavirus infections generally cause milder or moderate kidney-related illnesses.
‘This is not COVID 2.0,’ Hegedűs said, explaining that COVID-19 spreads easily from person to person through droplets and aerosols, including from asymptomatic individuals, while most hantaviruses are zoonotic infections transmitted primarily from rodents to humans.
Even the Andes virus, which is capable of human-to-human transmission, typically spreads only through close contact, representing a fundamentally different transmission dynamic from COVID-19, he added.
‘Based on current scientific knowledge, it is extremely unlikely that this could develop into another global pandemic or ‘COVID 2.0’,’ the minister wrote.
Hegedűs said there is currently no widely used or internationally accepted vaccine against hantavirus, but there is also no epidemiological situation that would justify a mass vaccination programme, as widespread community transmission is not expected.
He stressed that prevention mainly depends on keeping rodents away and following safe cleaning practices.
Recommended preventive measures include storing food in sealed containers, closing gaps and openings in buildings, rodent control, ventilating enclosed spaces, and avoiding stirring up dust contaminated with rodent droppings.
Rodent droppings should not be swept or vacuumed dry, as this may increase the risk of inhaling virus-containing particles. Instead, contaminated areas should first be disinfected with wet cleaning methods, he warned.
The minister advised anyone who has spent time in environments contaminated by rodents or rodent droppings and later develops symptoms such as fever, severe fatigue, muscle pain, headache, nausea, abdominal complaints, or other unusual symptoms to contact their general practitioner and mention possible rodent exposure.
The Hondius Dutch cruise ship linked to the infections departed from Ushuaia, Argentina, in early March. According to the World Health Organization, three passengers—a Dutch couple and a German citizen—died, while several others required medical treatment. Multiple confirmed or suspected hantavirus cases were reported on board.
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