Lorne Warburton had never heard of hantavirus until three years ago, when he was admitted to hospital and put on life support, telling the BBC that going through the disease was “torture” and “hell on earth”.
The Canadian recounted that in March 2023, he began to feel unwell, presenting with “Covid-like symptoms, muscle aches, a chronic headache and fatigue.”
His symptoms quickly worsened and he says he was “drenched in sweat and couldn't breathe”.
After being put on life support, he was diagnosed with hantavirus and spent about three weeks in the hospital.
“The degree of illness and suffering I went through was hell on earth, it was torture to go through it and be able to recover.”
According to scientists, hantavirus has a high mortality rate of up to 50% in cases recorded in North and South America.
Another case was that of German Christian Ege, who also recounted having Covid-like symptoms in May 2019, saying he had a stomach flu for three days with vomiting and dizziness, and it felt like a “strange flu”.
After taking a blood test at the doctor, he was taken to the hospital, where he suffered kidney failure and sepsis, and was admitted to intensive care for several days, with a cervical catheter to establish access to dialysis.
The German told the BBC that the septicemia was the most worrying part of his illness:
“The kidneys are back to normal, but the combination of a bacterial and viral infection at the same time was definitely a little concerning for a few days.”
