Lorne Warburton had never even heard of hantavirus before until he nearly died from it in 2023. Looking back, he said it was pure torture and “hell on earth.”
Warburton, who is from Canada, said his symptoms, which felt similar to COVID, first started in March 2023. He had body aches, fatigue, headaches, and felt awful. But things escalated quickly.
Before long, he was sweating heavily and struggling to breathe.
Eventually, doctors placed him on life support, and he was later diagnosed with hantavirus.
He ended up spending about three weeks in the hospital. Even after making it through, he said he had never experienced anything that severe in his life.
Over in Germany, another survivor, Christian Ege, went through something similar back in 2019. At first, he thought he just had a bad stomach bug or some kind of flu after dealing with vomiting, dizziness, and flu-like symptoms for several days.
Things became much more serious after his blood test results came back and he was hospitalized. He eventually developed kidney failure and sepsis and had to spend time in the ICU, receiving dialysis.
Christian later said the sepsis was the scariest part of the whole experience.
Both men are now sharing their stories as health officials deal with a rare hantavirus outbreak connected to the cruise ship MV Hondius.
So far, three passengers from the ship have died after the vessel left Argentina about a month ago.
The cruise operator confirmed that three passengers, including a British man, were evacuated to the Netherlands for treatment earlier this week.
The British passenger, identified as Martin Anstee, is reportedly stable. His wife later said the last few days had been extremely stressful and that his condition had fluctuated.
Meanwhile, the UK Health Security Agency confirmed that two people from the UK are isolating at home after being potentially exposed to the virus.
The MV Hondius is currently travelling towards the Canary Islands, after spending several days near Cape Verde.
Hantavirus itself isn’t just one disease but a whole family of viruses, and is named after a river in South Korea. According to the World Health Organization, there are more than 20 different types.
In most cases, the virus spreads through contact with rodent droppings or urine, especially when dried particles become airborne.
Lorne believes he caught it after shaking out a rug in his attic that likely had mouse droppings on it.
Christian’s case may also have been linked to rodents. Investigators later found a positive sample in his garden, and his son had apparently discovered a dead mouse there shortly before he became sick.
There’s currently no widely used vaccine or dedicated antiviral treatment for hantavirus, so doctors mainly focus on supportive care like oxygen, respiratory support, and intensive hospital treatment.
For Lorne, recovery was long and frustrating.
Even after leaving the hospital, he said it took about a year and a half before he started feeling normal again.
Fortunately, Christian eventually made a full recovery after about four months, and did not have any lasting health problems from the ordeal. Still, he said the recovery process took much longer than he expected, and the dialysis treatment was extremely tough.
