# Hantavirus and the COVID reflex: same fears, same hoaxes

> The hantavirus outbreak revives COVID-era reflexes: anxiety, media over-reading and recycled disinformation. A measured breakdown, with sources.

Published on May 21, 2026 on HantaTracker
Canonical source: https://hantatracker.fr/en/articles/hantavirus-covid-reflex-fear-disinformation/
Category: Décryptage

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A high-profile infectious outbreak, Google searches spiking, anxious videos on social media — and, almost mechanically, the **return of the same fears and the same hoaxes** as during COVID-19. The <a href="/en/glossary/hantavirus/">hantavirus</a> outbreak tied to the <a href="/en/glossary/mv-hondius/">MV Hondius</a> is no exception. A breakdown, without alarmism&nbsp;: what the experts say, and how to tell fact from fiction.

## "COVID colours everything," but this is not a new COVID

On 21 May 2026, **NPR** ran a segment on a phenomenon observed in the United States&nbsp;: the recent COVID-19 experience **shapes** how the public reacts to hantavirus and to the ongoing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The signals described by the US public radio are telling&nbsp;: anxious questions on Reddit, videos on TikTok and Instagram, and a **rise in searches** containing the word "pandemic" on Google Trends.

But the infectious disease experts interviewed by NPR are categorical&nbsp;: the average American **should not** fear that hantavirus or Ebola will become "a repeat of COVID-19." The reason is first **biological**&nbsp;:

- **COVID-19**, like measles, spreads **through the air** — hence its lightning global spread&nbsp;;
- **Ebola** spreads through **bodily fluids** (blood, vomit)&nbsp;;
- **hantavirus** most often spreads through **contact with the urine, faeces or saliva** of infected rodents. Only one strain, the <a href="/en/glossary/andes-virus/">Andes virus</a>, has documented <a href="/en/glossary/person-to-person-transmission/">person-to-person transmission</a> — and it remains limited.

This difference in **transmission route** explains why a virus can kill and yet not cause a global airborne pandemic. It is also the consistent line of the <a href="/en/glossary/who/">WHO</a>, which has repeatedly said the risk to the general population is **low** and that this is **not** "another COVID."

## The return of hoaxes, copy-paste style

Where the comparison with 2020 is most striking is on **disinformation**. **France Info's Vrai ou Fake** fact-checking unit documented, on 16 May 2026, a genuine **recycling** of COVID-era theories. Four drivers recur, all **debunked**&nbsp;:

**1. Bill Gates as scapegoat.** A rumour claims the billionaire "already knew" hantavirus would follow COVID. In reality, the vaccine alliance he funds had for years flagged hantavirus… as it did Ebola, chikungunya and yellow fever — **already known** viruses. No "crystal ball," then&nbsp;: the same accusation targeted Gates during COVID.

**2. Accusations against "Big Pharma."** According to another theory, media and politicians "overdo it" with a "trashy virus" to enrich drug companies. The same suspicion of "global coordination" for industry profit circulated widely in 2020-2022. (France Info separately checked the claim that a vaccine is "already" on sale&nbsp;: there is to date **no licensed vaccine** against the Andes virus — see our [article on vaccine research](/en/articles/andes-hantavirus-vaccine-research-status/).)

**3. The "reassurance" rhetoric.** The mirror image of the above&nbsp;: minimising the virus to denounce a "media-political panic." It features figures already active during COVID.

**4. Antisemitic theories.** One hoax claims "hanta" means "scam" in Hebrew, suggesting a "fake virus" orchestrated by someone. This is **entirely false**&nbsp;: the word "hantavirus" does not come from Hebrew (it derives from the **Hantan River** in Korea, where the prototype virus was identified). Here too, the pattern is a **recycling** of conspiracy tropes that appeared during the pandemic.

France Info's conclusion is sober&nbsp;: this new outbreak offers disinformers "a new opportunity to chase clicks by recycling their theories."

## "Why talk about it so much if the risk is low?"

It is the — legitimate — question raised by **France Info's ombudsman**. It deserves an honest answer, because it goes to the heart of this site's stance.

Talking about it **a lot** is not talking about it **badly**. The risk to the general population is low, and repeating that is part of informing. But a real outbreak, with deaths and an international investigation, **is** a matter of public interest. Above all, silence does not create calm&nbsp;: it lets the **vacuum fill with rumours**. Informing **with restraint** — sourced figures, a clear distinction between facts and hypotheses, a refusal of sensationalism — is precisely the antidote to the infodemic described by the WHO and fact-checkers.

It is also why phenomena such as the **rush on FFP2 masks** (demand multiplied fivefold in a week in France, per Radio France) reflect a post-COVID reflex more than a health necessity&nbsp;: French Health Minister Stéphanie Rist herself recalled that "there is no reason to wear a mask" for this virus, which does not spread like SARS-CoV-2.

## Key takeaways

- The COVID experience **colours** the perception of hantavirus, but experts (via **NPR**) and the **WHO** agree&nbsp;: it **will not** be a new COVID, primarily because the **transmission route** is different.
- **Disinformation** recycles 2020 patterns (Gates scapegoat, "Big Pharma," reassurance, antisemitism) — **all these claims are false**, as documented by **France Info Vrai ou Fake**.
- The word "hantavirus" comes from the **Hantan River** (Korea), **not** from Hebrew.
- Talking about it a lot **with restraint** is the antidote, not the problem&nbsp;: an information vacuum feeds rumours.
- Post-COVID reflexes (rush on masks) ≠ a health necessity here&nbsp;: hantavirus does not spread like COVID.

On the real state of vaccine research, read [where does vaccine research stand?](/en/articles/andes-hantavirus-vaccine-research-status/). On the contested origin theories, see [the Ushuaïa landfill and the index case](/en/articles/ushuaia-landfill-index-case/).