Having hantavirus was 'hell on earth'

Lorne Warburton had never heard of the hantavirus until three years ago when he was taken to hospital and put on life support, describing the sickness as "torture" and "hell on earth".

The Canadian, told BBC Outside Source that in March 2023 he started feeling unwell with "Covid-type symptoms, body aches, a chronic headache and fatigue".

His symptoms quickly developed and he says he was "drenched in sweat and couldn't breathe".

After he was connected to a life support machine, he was diagnosed with hantavirus, and spent around three weeks in hospital.

"The degree of illness and sickness that I went through was hell on earth, it was torture, to go through that and to be able to bounce back."

Over in Germany, Christin Ege also recounted experiencing Covid-like symptoms in May 2019, saying had a stomach flu for three days, vomiting, dizziness and that it felt like a "strange flu".

After doing a blood test with a doctor, he was taken to hospital where he suffered kidney failure and sepsis, and was taken into ICU for a few days with a neck catheter to establish dialysis access.

Christian also told the BBC that the sepsis was the most worrying part of his illness.

"The kidneys recovered normally, but it was the coincidence of a bacterial and a viral escalation at the same time that was a bit worrying for a couple of days for sure."

Lorne and Christian are among those who have survived hantavirus, of which some strains can have a mortality rate of 20% to 40%.

So far three passengers on the MV Hondius have died after the cruise ship set sail from Argentina on its voyage across the Atlantic Ocean around a month ago.

The cruise operator confirmed that three people - including one Briton - were evacuated from the ship on Wednesday to the Netherlands for treatment.

The Briton - who several media outlets have identified as 56-year-old ex-police officer Martin Anstee - is said to be in a stable condition.

Anstee's wife, Nicola, told the Daily Telegraph, it had been "a very dramatic few days" and that it had been "a bit up and down for him."

The MV Hondius is now sailing towards Spain's Canary Islands after being anchored for three days near Cape Verde, an archipelago nation off the West African coast.

Hantaviruses, which are named after a river in South Korea, describe a family of viruses rather than one single disease. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) there are more than 20 viral species. It typically spreads from rodents through dried urine and droppings.

This usually happens by breathing in the virus, for example when rodent urine and droppings that contain hantavirus are stirred up into the air. The virus can also be caught from a bite from a rodent, such as a rat.

Lorne believes he caught hantavirus from mouse droppings after shaking a rug in his attic.

Christian, like Lorne, had never heard of the hantavirus, but a biologist commissioned by the authorities found a positive sample in his garden, and that his son found a dead mouse in the garden days earlier.

There is currently no widely available vaccine or specific antiviral treatment for hantavirus infections.

Treatment is supportive and based on symptoms, such as hospital care and respiratory support.

Lorne was allowed to go home after his hospital stay, but said it took a year-and-a-half to recover and rebuild his body back to full strength, describing the recovery process as "very slow".

"There are micro baby-steps of recovery where I take two steps forward and four steps back." he said.

"I also had other issues where I had a frozen shoulder after coming home from the hospital, which was extremely painful, so I was trying to rebuild myself. but also first I had to rebuild my shoulder before I could start working on other things."

Christian said he was "perfectly fit" with "no consequential damages" following his four-month recovery, but also found the longer than expected recovery process hard and that the dialysis process he was put through was hard work for the whole body".

'The smallest little details'

While Lorne says he's doing well, he suffers from a heart rhythm disorder called atrial fibrillation and needs daily heart medication.

"My heart is not synching, the chambers aren't synching properly. So when they got my heart going again, I have a strong heart but it's not in proper rhythm."

Lorne said that he is grateful to the medical team that helped him with his recovery and helps raise money to buy medical equipment and fund medical rennovations for his local health foundation.

Christian described his experience as a humbling experience, saying: "It was a hard time, hard days, but many many people suffering more than me."

He told the BBC that since his recovery and having more time, he tries to read a book every week.

Despite the long recovery, Lorne said he was "coming back to normal life," and was back at work and raising his children.

"You don't really take things for granted as much," he said.

"I appreciate even the smallest little details that most people wouldn't even acknowledge or see going through daily life."

"I didn't drink fluids for two weeks when I was in ICU, and I just remember having that sip of fresh clean water was the best thing I ever tasted in my life."