This small rodent is at the center of theories about the hantavirus outbreak

Andes virus, a hantavirus, caused three deaths and at least eight illnesses among passengers aboard the MV Hondius traveling from Argentina across the Atlantic. The outbreak’s origin remains unclear, but health officials suspect long-tailed pygmy rice rats as a common host. Nearly 10% of these rodents in some areas carry the pathogen. Andes virus infects humans mainly when viral particles from rodent feces, urine, and saliva are inhaled. It is the only known hantavirus that can transmit between people. Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome can be fatal in up to 50% of cases. Officials plan to analyze hantavirus genome sequences from South American rodents to determine how the virus circulates and to help prevent future spillover.

"Andes virus, a type of hantavirus, has sparked global concern in recent weeks after causing the death of three passengers and sickening at least eight others aboard the MV Hondius, a cruise ship traveling from Argentina across the Atlantic. It's still unclear how, or where, the outbreak started. But some health officials are pointing the finger at a tiny South American rodent: the long-tailed pygmy rice rat, a common host of Andes virus."

"By one estimate, nearly 10 percent of long-tailed pygmy rice rats in some areas carry the pathogen. Andes virus largely spreads to humans who breathe in viral particles found in rodents' feces, urine, and saliva, and is the only hantavirus known to transmit between people. Although U.S. officials stress that the risk to the public is low at this time, the Andes virus has raised alarms in part because of its high fatality rate."

"Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS), a disease caused by hantaviruses, can be fatal in as high as 50 percent of cases, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). To help narrow down the exact origin point of this particular outbreak, officials are planning to analyze hantavirus genome sequences found in rodents in South America to understand how the virus is circulating. "

"Officials suspect that the first known infected individuals of the current outbreak—a Dutch couple on the cruise who died in April after falling ill—may have been exposed to Andes virus in areas where the rat lives in South America. Experts who study hantaviruses say the episode highlights how little we know about these pathogens' circulatio"

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