Health
Hantavirus exposure risk may be higher than believed in parts of US, study finds
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Researchers found unusually high hantavirus levels in rodents in the Pacific Northwest, suggesting greater exposure risk in the surrounding agricultural communities.
The area with the biggest prevalence is the Palouse region, which includes parts of eastern Washington and north-central Idaho in the Pacific Northwest.
Researchers from Washington State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine found unexpectedly high levels of Sin Nombre virus (SNV), which is the strain most strongly linked to hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) — among local rodent populations.
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In summer 2023, they collected samples from 189 deer mice, voles and chipmunks at eight farms and two forest sites.
Nearly 30% of sampled rodents showed evidence of prior exposure and about 10% had active infections, according to the study press release. The rodents that tested positive were from both agricultural environments (farms) and natural settings (wilderness).
Researchers found unusually high hantavirus levels in rodents in the Pacific Northwest, suggesting greater exposure risk in the surrounding agricultural communities. (iStock)
While deer mice are the primary carriers of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, the researchers found infections across multiple rodent species.
This suggests that Sin Nombre virus may be more widespread in the region than previously thought.
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The findings were published in 2026 in Emerging Infectious Diseases, a peer-reviewed journal from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“We were surprised both by how common the virus was locally and by how little data existed for the Northwest,” said Stephanie Seifert, the study’s corresponding author and principal investigator of the Molecular Ecology of Zoonotic and Animal Pathogens lab in the College of Veterinary Medicine’s Paul G. Allen School for Global Health, in the press release.
“We’re really just beginning to understand how widespread and complex this virus is in rodent populations here.”
The hantavirus detected in this study is different from the Andes virus, the strain linked to the recent outbreak on board the MV Hondius cruise ship. (Getty Images)
The Sin Nombre virus, the most common hantavirus in the U.S., is typically spread to humans through inhalation of aerosolized rodent urine, droppings or saliva and is not known to spread person-to-person.
This is different from the Andes virus, the strain linked to the recent outbreak on board the MV Hondius cruise ship. Andes virus is the only hantavirus that is capable of spreading between people through close, prolonged contact.
“People may be exposed more often than we realize, but severe cases are more likely to be tested for hantavirus.”
Dr. Sonja Bartolome, an expert in pulmonary and critical care at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, pointed out that since national tracking began in 1993, the illness has remained rare, with 864 cases reported between 1993 and 2022.
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“Most cases have occurred in Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona, and 94% have been reported in states west of the Mississippi River,” Bartolome, who was not involved in the study, told Fox News Digital.
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“It is important to conduct research that expands our understanding of how the virus spreads,” she went on. “Studies like this – which obtain and compare viral genetic sequences across regions and animals – help clarify how the virus moves geographically and between species.”
The researchers recommend efforts to prevent rodent exposure for living and farming in rural areas. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez, File)
Although similar findings have been reported in other regions, this is the first study to reveal the pattern in this part of the country, Bartolome noted.
“Because humans most commonly contract hantavirus through exposure to aerosolized rodent urine or droppings, precautions remain essential when cleaning areas with evidence of rodent activity,” she added.
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The study presented some limitations, primarily that it only measured the infection in rodents and did not evaluate human transmission risk.
Additionally, the samples were only taken in the Palouse region and may not be generalized to all the Pacific Northwest.
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The research was also conducted during a single season, which means the conclusions don’t reflect year-round data.
The study suggests the need for expanded hantavirus monitoring in the Pacific Northwest, especially in agricultural areas.
The study presented some limitations, primarily that it only measured the infection in rodents and did not evaluate human transmission risk. (iStock)
The researchers recommend efforts to prevent rodent exposure for living and farming in rural areas. Longer-term studies could help clarify how environmental conditions and seasonal changes affect prevalence of the virus, they added.
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“People may be exposed more often than we realize, but severe cases are more likely to be tested for hantavirus,” said Pilar Fernandez, a co-author on the study and a disease ecologist in the Allen School whose research focuses on the eco-epidemiology of zoonotic diseases, in the release.
“Understanding that gap — how exposure translates into disease — is the next big step.”
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Eliminating sugar from your diet may seem like the key to healthy eating, but research suggests it could have unintended effects on digestive health.
A study presented at ENDO 2026, the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting, suggests that a total lack of sucrose, or table sugar, may harm gut health and disrupt the body’s natural metabolism.
To explore how the total absence of dietary sugar impacts the body, researchers at the Dasman Diabetes Institute in Kuwait City conducted a 16-week study on two groups of mice. Both groups were placed on a low-fat diet, but with one critical difference.
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One group consumed a low-fat diet that included a standard amount of sucrose, while the other group ate a low-fat diet that was completely sugar-free, according to the study’s press release.
Throughout the trial, the scientists monitored a wide variety of physiological factors, including the animals’ weight, glucose tolerance, insulin sensitivity, hormone levels, internal inflammation and the specific composition of their gut bacteria.
A total lack of dietary sugar can cause imbalances in the gut bacteria and lead to signs of fatty liver disease, even without any weight gain, researchers said. (iStock)
The study outcome suggested that completely removing sugar caused several unexpected health problems.
“Completely removing sucrose from a low-fat diet may unexpectedly disrupt gut health and promote inflammation and metabolic dysfunction,” Rasheed Ahmad, principal scientist and head of the Immunology & Microbiology Department at the Dasman Diabetes Institute, said in the release.
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Even though the mice on the sugar-free diet did not gain any extra weight compared to the control group, their internal health indicators deteriorated.
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The animals that lacked sucrose developed an imbalance in their gut microbes and increased inflammation within the intestines and liver.
They also showed signs of poor glucose regulation, insulin resistance and cellular changes associated with fatty liver disease, according to the research.
Future dietary guidelines may shift away from strict, absolute sugar bans and instead focus on overall gut health through balanced nutrition. (iStock)
“The findings suggest that complete removal of sucrose from a low-fat diet may negatively affect gut microbiota and metabolic health,” Ahmad concluded.
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While the risks of high-sugar diets are well-established, the researchers noted that little attention has been given to the effects of completely eliminating sugar from low-fat meals.
Scientists say these new findings highlight that dietary carbohydrates play a valuable role in supporting balance between the immune system and the gut microbiome.
Completely cutting sucrose from a low-fat diet can unexpectedly trigger gut inflammation and disrupt the metabolism, experts say. (iStock)
Because this research was conducted on mice over a relatively short 16-week period, further clinical trials are necessary to determine whether a completely sugar-free diet causes the same gut and liver inflammation in humans.
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Additionally, the study focused specifically on removing sucrose from low-fat meals, meaning the results might not apply to people eliminating sugar while following higher-fat or ketogenic eating plans, the researchers noted.
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The team believes that future dietary guidelines may shift away from strict, absolute sugar restrictions and instead place a greater emphasis on maintaining a diverse, healthy population of gut bacteria through balanced nutrition.
“In the long term, these findings could help improve strategies for preventing and managing metabolic disorders, fatty liver disease and chronic inflammatory conditions,” Ahmad said.
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A cure for cancer could be on the horizon in the next decade, according to experts.
During the WSJ Leadership Institute CEO Summit in London last week, Johnson & Johnson Chairman and CEO Joaquin Duato reflected on the pharmaceutical company’s projections on the future of cancer treatment.
In the next 10 years, the goal is to “try to eliminate cancer,” Duato shared.
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“That’s a high goal, and we are already making significant progress in certain cancers,” he said.
Duato used multiple myeloma as an example, noting that the life expectancy is currently 10 years, when it was previously “only single years.”
Joaquin Duato, chairman and CEO of Johnson and Johnson, speaks at the Punchbowl News Conference at Union Station on March 10, 2026, in Washington, DC. (Heather Diehl/Getty Images)
“We have treatments now that utilize your own immune system to attack the cancer,” he said at the summit. “For patients who were already going into hospice, so they didn’t have any other alternative, they are [at] more than five years, with a single administration, in remission. That [is] spectacular.”
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“When patients see that, they cannot believe that because they have been coming to the hospital every week [for] a decade, having multiple therapies.”
The goal is to “try to eliminate cancer” in the next 10 years, the pharmaceutical executive said. (iStock)
According to Duato, Johnson & Johnson is working to understand the biology of cancer growth and to formulate new technologies to address it.
“It’s realistic to believe that we are going to cure certain cancers, and some others we’re going to turn into chronic diseases,” he predicted.
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“Cancer is an important thing – I cannot think about anybody who has not been touched by cancer,” he went on. “But there are many other opportunities for us to actually advance science, to address very important social problems.”
Duato called out dementia as another “important problem” in need of a solution.
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He predicted that life expectancy, which has risen steadily over the past century, will continue to increase as longevity technologies and solutions advance, improving quality of life along the way.
Duato commented that J&J has been optimistic about the role artificial intelligence will play in the future of healthcare, calling it a “force multiplier.”
Biomarkers and AI can help with the earlier diagnosis of cancer, as well as a more advanced and personalized approach to surgery, a doctor noted. (iStock)
Fox News senior medical analyst Dr. Marc Siegel agreed with Duato’s outlook on the future of cancer care, noting that certain cancers will turn into chronic diseases while others will find outright cures.
“Advances [will be] based on the use of AI to help guide targeted treatments with expanding knowledge of cancer mutations and how to target them,” he predicted, speaking to Fox News Digital.
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Siegel added that biomarkers and AI can help with earlier diagnoses, as well as a more advanced and personalized approach to surgery.
J&J recently acquired Firefly Bio, a biotech firm that produces drugs that enter cancer cells to “target certain proteins that contain difficult to treat gene mutations,” the doctor added.
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