Why Andes hantavirus is not the next SARS-CoV-2: contrasting viral shedding, transmissibility and genomic patterns

A cruise ship-associated Andes hantavirus outbreak has raised questions usually associated with respiratory viruses, including transmissibility and pandemic risk. Although Andes virus may enter through the respiratory route, cause severe respiratory disease and under close contact spread between humans, it differs fundamentally from SARS-CoV-2. The ecology is rodent-borne, pathogenesis is vascular, diagnosis is centred on blood PCR and serology, and genetic diversity is mainly shaped by reservoir ecology and geography rather than by sustained human-to-human transmission and immune selection.