A virus that lives peacefully inside a mouse can kill a third of the humans it infects.
Hantavirus has haunted rural cabins, hospital wards, and now a cruise ship at sea, yet remains one of the rarest and most lethal infections known to medicine, with no cure and no reliable treatment. Researchers have traced its ancient evolutionary truce with rodents, mapped how an overreacting immune system can turn against the body it's meant to protect, and documented Andes virus, the single exception that allows transmission between people.
Inside, you'll discover:
Why a virus harmless to rodents proves lethal in humansHow immune overreaction turns the body's own defenses against itWhat the 2026 cruise ship outbreak really revealed about riskPart of the What Science Says About... series, dedicated to evidence over assumption-explore the collection.
Read What Science Says About... Hantavirus and find out.