Assessing my Anxiety over the Hantavirus

Never in a million years did I ever think I’d have to worry about another virus.

I feel naïve to write that, but a lot has happened in my life since the COVID-19 pandemic began six years ago. I was in a different place in my life—I was a version of myself that I can’t recognize anymore. Activities that I no longer engage in kept me busy. I spilled my secrets to people that are thankfully no longer in my life. The COVID-19 pandemic forced me to change radically in ways that this particular version of my life found unexpected. And this change led me to the person who’s currently writing this.

Although I’m grateful for this change, the COVID-19 pandemic also led to experiences that I wish to never relieve again. The pandemic pushed me to thinking that life was never going to improve. I was convinced that the world, and my life, as I knew it was over. The feeling of dread that clouded my mind is something I’m grateful is past me.

This is why I immediately felt anxiety when I heard about the Hantavirus. The Hantavirus, for those that may not know, is a type of virus that currently plagues the passengers of a cruise ship that headed to Spain’s Canary Islands (The Associated Press, 2026). The Andes strain of the Hantavirus, or the type of Hantavirus involved, is a type of virus that comes from rodent by-products, but can be transmitted from one person to another (The Associated Press, 2026). According to the World Health Organization, “Hantaviruses can cause cardiopulmonary issues among patients and can have a fatality rate of up to 50 per cent” (The Associated Press, 2026, para. 19).

Even though the World Health Organization has stressed that the threat of harm is love and that it’s completely different to the COVID-19 pandemic, I still feel some level of anxiety. I still fear that this situation will escalate to a degree where people may relieve the COVID-19 pandemic all over again. But, in times of unpredictability, it is important to slow down and look at the facts. It is important to read, investigate and trust. Hysteria in one can cause hysteria in others and mass hysteria is not productive. I will continue to monitor the situation, but I’ll take a deep breath and have faith that things will turn around. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from the COVID-19 pandemic, it is that humans are a resilient species—we can adapt from the worst situations and emerge victorious.

Works Cited

The Associated Press. (2026, May 6). Who confirms Andes strain of hantavirus in cruise ship passengers, with 3 transferred from ship for treatment | CBC news. CBCnews. https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/hondius-ship-hantavirus-andes-strain-9.7189281