Sanjay Gupta

I just want to start with that.

There's been thousands of cases around the world, but maybe only about 300 cases of human-to-human transmission of the virus.

But one thing, again, to point out is that it was first sequenced back in 1996, and

and then again in 2018, and they find very little difference between the genomic sequence over that time period and even as compared to now.

So that's the good news, potentially.

This virus seems to be pretty stable.

COVID again was mutating all the time that first year in particular.

Now, I will say, as the virus spreads more and more, and that may happen, the chance for mutations goes up.

So we have to keep monitoring this, following this, and making sure we're continuing to test people and sequence the virus if they find it in people.

In other words, based on the little we do know, it does not appear to mutate a lot, unlike COVID or influenza, but we do have to continue keeping an eye on it.

All right, time for one more question.

Okay, well, one of the most important parts of this listener's question is that she's from New York.

That is not common in New York.

The vast majority of cases that have happened in the United States have been west of the Mississippi.

They tend to occur in places where people and rodents coexist.

Obviously, there's rodents in New York, but we're talking about truly coexist, most commonly in rural areas and agricultural settings.

Here in the United States, it's not the common house mouse that carries hantavirus.

It's actually something known as the deer mouse, more commonly seen in the wild.

Yes, they can end up in houses and cabins, and people can get exposed to feces, urine, and saliva.

And again, the risk comes from cleaning or touching.