“Hantavirus infection can be transmitted from an infected person to other people during the incubation period.”

The Andes virus is the only type of hantavirus that is known to spread person-to-person. This spread is usually limited to people who have close contact with a sick person.

Current very limited evidence does not support a significant role for asymptomatic individuals in hantavirus transmission, supporting active symptom monitoring of asymptomatic exposed individuals. Infectivity is highest on the first day of symptom onset, which indicates a high likelihood of some infectiousness one-two days before onset. The incubation period of hantaviruses is approximately three weeks, with a reported range of 10 days to six weeks.

To date, human-to-human transmission has been documented only for Andes virus in the Americas and remains uncommon. When it occurs, transmission between people has been associated with close and prolonged contact, particularly among household members or intimate partners, and appears most likely during the early phase of illness, when the virus is more transmissible. In humans, symptoms usually begin between one and eight weeks after exposure, depending on the type of virus.

Andes virus is the only type of hantavirus that is known to spread person-to-person. This spread is usually limited to people who have close contact with a sick person. This includes direct physical contact, prolonged time spent in close or enclosed spaces, and exposure to the sick person's body fluids. Signs and symptoms of HPS due to Andes virus appear 4 to 42 days after exposure.

The time between disease onset in 14 cases of person-to-person transmission among 16 patients with HCPS was 4–28 days. However, these intervals should be interpreted with caution... The shortest interval of 4 days was for a patient who had close contact with another patient 10 days before symptoms developed. If this patient is considered to be a more likely source, as it was by Wells et al., the range would be 10–28 days.

ANDV is the unique hantavirus capable of being transmitted from person-to-person. Infection by this route takes place during the early prodromal phase, and the incubation period ranges from 9 to 40 days.

Unlike COVID-19, Andes hantavirus does not spread easily between people. Human-to-human transmission is rare and requires prolonged close contact, often in enclosed settings. Infectivity is highest on the first day of symptom onset, which indicates that transmission shortly before onset of symptoms cannot be excluded.

The balance of the evidence does not support the claim that human-to-human transmission of hantavirus infection occurs. Importantly, however, there have been no reports of human-to-human transmission from Europe, Asia, and most countries in the Americas where the disease exists. Infectivity is highest on the first day of symptom onset.

The time from infection with the hantavirus to the start of illness is usually about 2 to 3 weeks. The virus is present in the rodent's urine, feces or saliva. You can come in contact with the virus in the following ways: Inhaling viruses — the most likely form of transmission — when they become airborne from disturbed rodent droppings or nesting materials.

The incubation period also allows for silent transmission, which complicates containment strategies. Challenges in Outbreak Assessment.

Scientific consensus from CDC, WHO, and peer-reviewed reviews indicates person-to-person transmission is rare and limited to Andes virus, occurring primarily during symptomatic phase with high viral load shortly before or after symptom onset, not during the full pre-symptomatic incubation period which lasts 1-8 weeks. No strong evidence supports transmission from asymptomatic incubating individuals.