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PaperclipPerfector  1mo ago (text post)   934 thread views

Transnational Thursday for May 7, 2026

Transnational Thursday is a thread for people to discuss international news, foreign policy or international relations history. Feel free as well to drop in with coverage of countries you’re interested in, talk about ongoing dynamics like the wars in Israel or Ukraine, or even just whatever you’re reading.

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It's been around since forever in western North America -- endemic in deer mice IIRC? This new one is a different strain I guess, but now that I think about it the mouse droppings thing was a very early nudge towards me being radicalized by public health morons.

"You need to be Extremely Concerned about cleaning up mouse poop in your cabin" -- which you and everyone else has been doing on a yearly basis since Time Immemorial, riiiight...

Hantaviruses are found all over the world and not that rare. There are around 100000 cases caused by different Hantaviruses per year globally. What's different is this strain sustaining spread between humans (but not particularly effectively).

I understand that that's the story -- I just don't believe it. (as with the earlier story that you are particularly likely to die a horrible death from sweeping out your cupboards without putting on a bunny suit first)

What part do you not believe?

That hantaviruses are found all over the world? That there are around 100000 cases per year? That this strain spreads between humans? That the spread is not particularly effective?

That they are particularly dangerous.

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