The Most Lethal Viruses Known To Mankind

Hantavirus

Hantavirus is an airborne virus transmitted through an individual's exposure to infected mice droppings. Different strains of the virus are carried by different mice species. Two of the more prominent strains of hantavirus are hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) and hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS). The two strains may cause issues such as edema and acute kidney failure. If infected, there is a one in fifteen percent mortality rate with severe hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome, while hantavirus pulmonary syndrome has a thirty-eight percent mortality rate.

Lassa

Lassa is a virus carried by a West African species of rats known as Mastomys. The virus can be picked up by inhaling air near an infected rat's feces and humans can spread it through body fluid contact. Lassa fever is responsible for approximately five thousand deaths a year in the West African areas of Liberia and Sierra Leone. Although there is no vaccine currently available, medical professionals have found some success in treating their patients with antiviral drugs during the early stages of the infection. Otherwise, Lassa fever has a fifteen to twenty percent mortality rate.