WHO Addresses Fears That Hantavirus Could Become the “Next COVID”
A dramatic social-media post is raising alarm over hantavirus, asking whether the disease could become “the next COVID” after claiming that reality-TV personality Chase Chrisley was diagnosed with hantavirus.
The headline sounds alarming, but the available evidence tells a much more nuanced story.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has indeed responded to a significant hantavirus outbreak in 2026. However, WHO has not described hantavirus as the next COVID pandemic. In fact, WHO experts have explicitly said the opposite: the current outbreak does not represent the beginning of a new COVID-like pandemic, and the risk to the general population has been assessed as low.
There is also no reliable evidence in the sources reviewed that Chase Chrisley was diagnosed with hantavirus. His previously reported health problems involved unexplained digestive symptoms, weight loss and difficulty keeping food down—not a confirmed hantavirus infection.
What Exactly Is Hantavirus?
Hantavirus is not a newly discovered virus.
It refers to a group of viruses naturally associated with rodents. Humans can become infected primarily through contact with infected rodents or their urine, droppings and saliva. Depending on the virus and geographic region, infection can cause different illnesses.
In the Americas, hantaviruses can cause hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome (HCPS), a potentially severe illness affecting the lungs and heart.
In Europe and Asia, hantaviruses are associated with hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS), which primarily affects the kidneys and blood vessels.
These diseases can be serious and, in some cases, fatal. That is why public-health authorities monitor outbreaks carefully.
But severity in individual patients is not the same thing as pandemic potential.
Why Did Hantavirus Become Big News in 2026?
The recent concern stems largely from an unusual outbreak associated with the cruise ship MV Hondius.
In May 2026, WHO reported a cluster of severe illnesses among passengers and crew. Several cases were laboratory-confirmed as Andes virus, a hantavirus found primarily in South America.
The situation attracted international attention partly because Andes virus is unusual among hantaviruses.
Unlike most hantaviruses, limited person-to-person transmission of Andes virus has been documented.
WHO reported that the cruise-ship investigation provided evidence suggesting that some transmission occurred between people who had close contact with an infected individual.
That understandably generated comparisons with COVID-19.
However, the comparison has major limitations.
WHO: “This Is Not the Next COVID”
WHO epidemiologist Maria Van Kerkhove directly addressed the concern in May 2026.
Her message was clear: “This is not the next COVID.”
She emphasized that hantavirus is a serious infectious disease and that infected people can become critically ill or die, but infections are uncommon and most people will never be exposed.
The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the WHO regional office for the Americas, similarly stated that the cruise-ship event does not represent the beginning of a new pandemic.
According to PAHO, the risk to the general population remained low, with the outbreak largely involving people who had been aboard the ship and their close contacts.
That is very different from the situation the world experienced with COVID-19, when a respiratory virus demonstrated sustained transmission across communities and countries.
What Happened on the Cruise Ship?
WHO's May 8 report said that eight cases had been reported at that point, including three deaths, with five of the eight cases confirmed as hantavirus.
The virus identified was Andes virus.
WHO said that the initial case most likely acquired the infection through environmental exposure before boarding the ship, apparently associated with activities in Argentina.
Investigators then found evidence suggesting subsequent person-to-person transmission among some close contacts aboard the vessel.
This is an important distinction.
The outbreak demonstrated that Andes virus can spread between people under certain circumstances.
It does not mean that hantavirus behaves like SARS-CoV-2.
How Does Hantavirus Usually Spread?
For most hantavirus infections, the main concern is rodent exposure, not casual contact with another person.
According to WHO, people can become infected by contact with contaminated rodent urine, droppings or saliva. Risk can increase when people clean enclosed spaces contaminated by rodents or work in environments where rodents are present.
Activities that may increase exposure include:
Cleaning rodent-infested buildings
Working in rural environments
Forestry and agricultural activities
Entering poorly ventilated areas containing rodent waste
Sleeping in rodent-infested dwellings
Other activities that disturb contaminated material
The recommended prevention strategy is therefore very different from the precautions that became familiar during COVID-19.
Can Hantavirus Spread From Person to Person?
This is where the story becomes more complicated.
WHO says that limited human-to-human transmission has been documented for Andes virus, particularly among people who have close and prolonged contact with an infected person.
But this is not the norm for hantaviruses generally.
WHO's current fact sheet says that human-to-human transmission has only been documented for Andes virus in the Americas and remains uncommon.
For hantaviruses found in Europe and Asia, human-to-human transmission has not been documented.
That distinction is critical when evaluating sensational headlines suggesting that hantavirus could suddenly spread around the world like COVID-19.
What About Chase Chrisley?
The social-media headline specifically connects the hantavirus story to Chase Chrisley, but the reliable reporting available does not support that claim.
In September 2025, Chrisley publicly discussed significant digestive problems during the Lifetime series The Chrisleys: Back to Reality. He described losing substantial weight and being unable to keep food down. He also said doctors were investigating the problem.
The following January, his father, Todd Chrisley, gave a much more positive update, saying that Chase had regained weight, completed rehabilitation and was doing much better.
Neither of those reports identifies hantavirus as the cause of his health problems.
Therefore, the viral claim that “Chase Chrisley is diagnosed with hantavirus” should not be presented as an established fact without additional reliable evidence.
Why the Confusion Can Be Dangerous
Health misinformation often begins with a genuine event.
In this case, there really was a hantavirus outbreak.
There really were confirmed cases.
There really were deaths.
And there really was limited evidence of person-to-person transmission involving Andes virus.
But these facts can then be combined with an unrelated celebrity health story to create a much more frightening narrative.
The result is a headline that sounds as though a famous person's diagnosis proves that a new pandemic is beginning.
It does not.
Hantavirus Can Still Be Serious
Saying that hantavirus is not the next COVID does not mean it is harmless.
WHO notes that hantavirus infection can lead to severe disease and death.
For hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome in the Americas, the illness can progress rapidly, causing breathing difficulties, fluid accumulation in the lungs, cardiovascular problems and shock.
That is why suspected cases require prompt medical evaluation.
There is currently no licensed specific antiviral treatment or vaccine for hantavirus diseases, so treatment is primarily supportive. In severe cases, intensive medical care may be necessary.
Early recognition can be particularly important because the disease may initially resemble other infections.
What Are the Symptoms?
WHO says symptoms can begin between approximately one and eight weeks after exposure, depending on the specific hantavirus.
Early symptoms may include:
Fever
Headache
Muscle aches
Abdominal pain
Nausea
Vomiting
In severe HCPS, patients can develop coughing, difficulty breathing, fluid in the lungs and shock.
HFRS can involve low blood pressure, bleeding abnormalities and kidney failure.
Because these symptoms overlap with many other illnesses, exposure history is important when doctors evaluate a suspected case.
How Can People Reduce Their Risk?
The most important preventive measure is reducing exposure to rodents.
WHO recommends keeping homes and workplaces clean, sealing openings through which rodents can enter, storing food securely and practicing safe cleaning procedures in areas contaminated by rodents.
One particularly important precaution is to avoid dry sweeping or vacuuming rodent droppings, because disturbing contaminated material can increase exposure.
Instead, contaminated areas should be appropriately dampened before cleaning, following local public-health guidance.
What Does the Current WHO Assessment Mean?
The most important point for the general public is that WHO has not identified the current hantavirus situation as the beginning of another COVID-style pandemic.
In its May 2026 assessment of the cruise-ship outbreak, WHO said the global population risk was low.
WHO's Director-General also stated in May that the global risk from hantavirus remained low and that there was no indication at that point that the outbreak represented the beginning of a larger outbreak.
That assessment does not mean authorities are ignoring the situation.
WHO continues to monitor cases, investigate transmission and coordinate with affected countries.
The Important Difference Between “Serious” and “Pandemic”
These two concepts are sometimes confused online.
A disease can be very dangerous to an infected person without having the characteristics necessary to cause a global pandemic.
For example, a disease may cause severe illness but spread poorly between humans.
Hantavirus illustrates this distinction.
Some hantavirus infections can be extremely severe, yet human-to-human transmission is uncommon and is specifically associated with Andes virus under particular circumstances.
COVID-19, by contrast, demonstrated sustained and efficient transmission between humans on a massive international scale.
Therefore, simply pointing out that hantavirus can cause severe respiratory disease does not establish that it could become another COVID.
The Bottom Line
The viral post combines a real public-health story with an unverified celebrity claim.
There was a genuine 2026 hantavirus outbreak associated with the MV Hondius cruise ship, including deaths and evidence of limited person-to-person transmission involving Andes virus. WHO took the situation seriously but assessed the risk to the general population as low.
WHO experts have also explicitly rejected the characterization of the outbreak as “the next COVID.”
Meanwhile, reliable reporting about Chase Chrisley's health has described digestive problems, weight loss and subsequent improvement, but does not establish a diagnosis of hantavirus.
So the headline should be approached cautiously.
Hantavirus is a real and potentially dangerous infection—but current WHO evidence does not indicate that it is becoming the next COVID pandemic. And the claim linking Chase Chrisley to a confirmed hantavirus diagnosis is not supported by the reliable sources reviewed.
For anyone who has had significant rodent exposure and develops concerning symptoms such as fever, severe muscle aches, vomiting or especially breathing difficulties, medical evaluation is appropriate.
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