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Hantaviruses are rodent-borne viruses that can cause acute and severe human diseases such as Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS) and Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome (HFRS). The word Hanta is derived from the South Korean Hantan River (also spelled Hantain).

Scientists were able to isolate the prototype virus (Hantaan virus) from striped field mice near this river in the late 1970s. Since outbreaks of Korean hemorrhagic fever (KHF) among soldiers during the Korean War in the 1950s, the presence of KHF has been reported in numerous countries across Asia. Korean hemorrhagic fever (KHF) has been reported in many Asian nations since it was identified in soldiers during the Korean War in the 1950s. This place was then named for the virus family.

The word "Hanta" has come up in Israeli Hebrew slang in recent years (usually spelled "chanta" or חנטה), and trademarked, it means "scam," "nonsense," or whatever. The slang is non-normative and has nothing to do with the virus's name, which is rooted in science and geography, coming from East Asia. It has given rise to a host of false ideas that the virus is fake.

Hantaviruses are primarily spread via contact with rodent urine, droppings, or saliva. Symptoms may be flu-like, with some strains being fatal or critically limiting a person's breathing or leading to kidney failure. The normal approach for prevention is to control rodents and to avoid exposure where rodents have been an established part of the environment. Outbreaks are rare in many parts of the province, but they bring to light the need to grasp the true meaning of real virology and not viral misinformation.

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