Concerns are growing over Hantavirus, a disease people are catching through particles from infected rodents, as three people recently died from it on the MV Hondius cruise ship. A former Premier League manager went through a scary ordeal with the disease all the way back in 2012.
Ralph Hasenhuttl was the Southampton manager from 2018 to 2022, but had a near-fatal experience six years before even being appointed at St Mary's. The Austrian had some huge results with the Saints, including an emotional win against Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool.
Now that fears are elevating over a potential Hantavirus outbreak, the 58-year-old is now speaking out about how he caught the disease and the terrifying symptoms he suffered. He is hoping to raise awareness and warn people to be careful.
Ralph Hasenhuttl's Hantavirus Scare
Ralph Hasenhuttl
After winning promotion with German football club VfR Aalen in 2012, Hasenhuttl's body shut down. While he initially thought it was caused by exhaustion from a mountain bike ride, it quickly turned into pain.
"I went to bed and that's when the pain in my head started," the ex-Saints boss told The Mirror. "It felt like there was a needle in my head. Then I started to notice severe back pain. It felt like there was a knife in my back."
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If that's not bad enough, the Austrian coach explained how intense his heartbeat became as he 'hoped to survive'. He continued to explain what happened as he spent two weeks in intensive care:
"I was out for such a long time and didn't know when I would be back. My heartbeat would wake me up because of how intense it was, I would just feel this thud in my chest.
You have to wait until your body creates antibodies and then hope to survive."
Doctors revealed later that Hasenhuttl's liver and kidneys were expanding so rapidly that they were pressing against his other organs with nowhere to go.
He admitted he thought about death during his health scare, saying: "It was just a waiting game. I tried to push away from bad thoughts because I felt young, healthy and strong. I thought, 'Why should I die from a virus?"
How Hasenhuttl Caught Hantavirus
Ralph Hasenhuttl
While the recent deaths have come on a cruise ship near Cape Verde, Hasenhuttl's plight started from much closer to home. His own terrace, to be precise.
Hantavirus is typically carried by rodents and is contracted by inhaling their infected droppings or urine. However, Hasenhuttl's case was traced back to dust.
He explained: "I was cleaning the terrace without a mask and I think I inhaled the dust. It takes about two to three weeks until it breaks out and symptoms show."
The World Health Organisation (WHO) is currently investigating the MV Hondius outbreak in case it was caused by passengers having 'really close contact'. While it's usually rodent-to-human, there are concerns about the other ways it can be picked up.