Usually, it’s people who work or play in rural areas—farmers, hikers, campers, or anyone who shares a shed with a mouse family. You’d need to inhale dust from dried rodent droppings or touch your face after handling infected material. Gross, I know.
There’s also no human-to-human transmission in the UK strains, so you can’t catch it from a mate. Unless your mate is a field vole with bad hygiene. In that case, maybe reconsider your friendship.
Annual number of human cases of hantavirus infection in Europe
And here’s the kicker: symptoms are often mild or flu-like. Many people probably get it and never even know—they just think it’s a weird cold. The virus is like that guest who shows up to a party, farts in the corner, then leaves without saying goodbye.
Why is it so rare in the UK?
Geography, my friend. The specific types of hantavirus that cause serious disease (like Sin Nombre virus in the US) don’t exist here. The UK has the Seoul virus (yes, from Seoul, via rats) and Puumala virus (via bank voles), but they’re incredibly low-key. Our voles are basically introverts.
Also, the UK’s rodent population isn’t huge in the wild, and we don’t live in massive barns like 18th-century peasants. Modern housing, good sanitation, and a national pastime of complaining about dampness all help keep exposure low.
Plus, British mice are probably too busy complaining about the weather to spread a virus. “Oh, another drizzly day? I’ll just stay in my nest and watch Netflix, thanks.”
