Pandemic Risk

Human-to-human transmission is a necessary precondition for H5N1 to become a pandemic threat. There is no evidence of asymptomatic Andes hantavirus transmission. There is currently no evidence of human-to-human H5N1 transmission. Andes hantavirus is not considered a pandemic threat despite its human-to-human transmission capacity. The Hondius cluster represents a serious contained outbreak, not a precursor to broader global spread. The human-transmissible form of hantavirus is geographically restricted to the Andes region of South America.