The Andes virus, an emerging hantavirus causing severe respiratory failure and mortality up to 40 percent, is expanding globally, according to Dr. Marcos Diaz Guillen.
Writing in Santo Domingo, Diaz Guillen reported that the virus progresses rapidly from an initial feverish illness to severe respiratory failure and shock within a few hours or days. The medical community currently faces the infection without any authorized vaccine or targeted antiviral treatment, leaving doctors reliant on early detection, vital support, and intensive care management.
First identified in Argentina in 1995 and isolated in human patients in Chile in 2002, Andes virus causes hantavirus pulmonary syndrome. While historically endemic to Argentina and Chile, cases have now been documented across South America, Europe, and North America. Countries that have recorded the presence of the pathogen include Brazil, Paraguay, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Germany, Switzerland, France, Spain, and the United States.
Symptoms and Transmission
Identifying Andes virus presents significant challenges for clinicians because its early symptoms closely resemble several common tropical diseases. Symptoms overlap with influenza, coronavirus infection, legionella, mycoplasma, leptospirosis, malaria, and dengue. To identify the virus, physicians must maintain a high index of suspicion and review the travel history of patients who have visited endemic areas.
The virus features an extended incubation period of six to eight weeks, complicating early diagnosis alongside its similarity to other zoonotic diseases. Infection occurs through the inhalation of aerosolized rodent excrement, including from mice and long-snouted shrews, inside homes and enclosed spaces. Direct contact with contaminated materials at landfills and dump sites also spreads the pathogen.
Global Travel and Environmental Drivers
The international spread of Andes virus beyond its endemic range in South America is facilitated by modern transportation networks. High connectivity, international air travel, and cruise ship tourism allow viruses and bacteria to travel vast distances within hours or days, bypassing geographic boundaries.
Diaz Guillen cited a scientific paper published in the New England Journal of Medicine on July 15, 2026. The paper, titled Andes Virus: A Clinical Review, was written by Gavin H. Harris and colleagues and appeared in Volume 395, Number 13, under DOI 1056/NEJMra 2606651. It highlights clinical aspects and diagnostic criteria for the pathogen.
Institutional Context and Environmental Risk
Diaz Guillen is a pediatric neonatologist and Director of the School of Medicine at Pontificia Universidad Catolica Madre y Maestra in Santo Domingo. He is an emeritus pediatrician, a past president of the Dominican Society of Pediatrics, and serves as president of the Dominican Society of Vaccinology for the 2025 to 2027 term. Hantaviruses represent a class of zoonotic pathogens transmitted from animal hosts to humans, often resulting in severe pulmonary or renal illness.
Human environmental degradation is accelerating the spillover of pathogens from wild species to humans. Deforestation, disrespect for biodiversity, and mining activities that poison water supplies and dry up rivers force pathogens out of their natural animal hosts and into human populations.
Diaz Guillen warned that global society is increasingly turning its back on scientific truth, presenting a serious obstacle to changing course toward healthier and safer public health outcomes. Without addressing environmental destruction and heeding scientific guidance, human populations remain vulnerable to expanding microbial threats.
Treatment for patients infected with Andes virus remains limited to supportive medical interventions. Doctors must provide mechanical ventilatory support and manage circulating blood volume to prevent respiratory failure and cardiovascular shock.
