Crumb
c/world · by mc900ftJesus@lemy.lol · 115d

Evacuated US and French cruise ship passengers test positive for hantavirus

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/may/11/evacuated-us-and-french-mv-hondius-cruise-ship-passengers-test-positive-for-hantavirus

92 points · 11 comments · view on lemmy.world

11 Comments

BigBrownDog@lemmy.world · 25 pts · 115d (10 replies)

I'm going to get downvoted for this, I'm sure but I'll be the one to ask, I guess. If the World Health Organization, who is an international group, says that this is not something that is worth panicking about then why are the newsmedia and comentors panicking?

https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/hantavirus

This shit is scary and every thread I found on reddit it just Anti-Trump circlejerk and jokes like, "HERE WE GO AGAIN!" I've seen "experts" coment that it's not virulent and commenters claim that the infected spent less time around other infected people, so it is more virulent than the news says. I get that the CDC is compromised, but can we not trust the rest of the world's experts?

DharkStare@lemmy.world · 23 pts · 115d (4 replies)

Panic and fear is the bread and butter of news media. From what I understand, hantaviruses aren't something that causes pandemics like corona viruses.

It's just news media fear mongering and regular people posting COVID trauma.

BigBrownDog@lemmy.world · 15 pts · 115d (2 replies)

I mean, here's a comment on reddit with over 800 points in less than an hour:

Already multiple people have tested positive. I think its more contagious than they proclaim. Supposedly you need to be family-level close to get contaminated but this seems not to be the case here

This is just some guy on reddit saying shit. This isn't a conglomerate of international health experts. Hell, this could be a bot.

chaogomu@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 114d (1 reply)

Family level closeness... Like you find on a cruise ship...

BigBrownDog@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 114d

Exactly. I feel like I just need a break from all of the constant doom, misinformation, and anger.

BigBrownDog@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 115d

I don't think you are wrong, but stand by for an argument.

Jhex@lemmy.world · 11 pts · 115d (2 replies)

If the World Health Organization, who is an international group, says that this is not something that is worth panicking about then why are the newsmedia and comentors panicking?

Because the news media is not about informing people or keeping things objective... like everything else it has enshitified to be just alarmist garbage or unethical marketing

BigBrownDog@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 115d (1 reply)

I mean, I get that. It's just frustrating that social media comments of doomerism and jokes are the same. Haha here's another "worm brain", "drink lysol", and "ivermectin" joke. Oh, great. Another "we're so cooked" comment. Those jokes were dusty in 2021.

Jhex@lemmy.world · 11 pts · 115d

If you are hoping for any "quality" in social media comments, I'm afraid you are always going to be disappointed

frongt@lemmy.zip · 3 pts · 115d

Yeah. One of my friends is an epidemiologist who is an expert on stuff like this. She's not especially concerned yet.

Obviously if you are at risk, whether due to potential exposure or vulnerability, take precautions, but the vast majority of us don't have to care right now.

saltesc@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 115d

I've been saying the same thing. The articles themselves usually mention WHO as well, but way toward the end; in a world where half the people don't read more than headlines and few get past paragraph 2.