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Alt text: "Scatter plot titled 'Hantavirus: How Contagious & Deadly is it?' plotting diseases by fatality rate (y-axis) against R0 contagiousness (x-axis). Hantavirus (Andes strain) sits at around 30–40% fatality and R0 of 2–3, described as 'very deadly and quite contagious'. Nearby comparisons: bird flu (~60%, R0 ~1), Ebola (~50%, R0 ~2), MERS (~35%, R0 ~1), smallpox (~30%, R0 ~5). Lower-fatality diseases include COVID-19 pre-vaccination (~7%, R0 ~3), SARS (~10%, R0 ~3), and measles (~1%, R0 ~9). A note explains the MV Hondius cruise ship outbreak involved the Andes hantavirus — the only type that spreads human-to-human, though rarely. Sources: WHO, New York Times. Information is Beautiful.