Fact Check: Did X-Files Predict the Hantavirus Outbreak?

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - A number of posts have been circulating on Facebook [archive], TikTok, and YouTube claiming that the Hanta virus is featured in the film "The X-Files: Fight the Future." The posts feature images of the film's two main characters: FBI agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully.

The account holder claims the Hanta virus outbreak on the cruise ship MV Hondius bears similarities to the plot of the 1998 science fiction film. The circulating narrative claims the Hanta virus is a biological weapon created by the United States government.

But is the Hanta virus actually featured in the film as a US-made virus?

FACT CHECK

Tempo verified the content using reverse image search techniques and comparing the narrative with credible information. The results show that "The X-Files: Fight the Future" is purely a work of science fiction. The mysterious deaths of several characters in the film were not caused by the Hanta virus, but by a fictional alien virus that was part of an Earth colonization scenario.

Alien Colonization Fiction Storyline

The synopsis on IMDb.com indicates that this film follows the journey of two FBI agents, Fox Mulder and Dana Scully, played by David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson. The two attempt to uncover a massive government conspiracy involving a mysterious virus and a planned alien invasion.

In their investigation, Mulder and Scully discover an outbreak originating from an alien organism. They suspect the United States government is deliberately covering up the truth through covert operations and the destruction of evidence. This fictional film depicts the involvement of elite groups and high-ranking officials conspiring to conceal this biological threat from the public.

The virus depicted in the film is completely unrelated to the Hantavirus known in the medical world. Instead, the film focuses on the development of an experimental vaccine to combat the alien organism as part of a global conspiracy. At the end of the story, Mulder and Scully do succeed in uncovering evidence of a covert international operation, but the truth remains firmly hidden from the public.

Hantaviruses Are Not Man-Made

Hantaviruses are a group of negative-stranded RNA viruses belonging to the Hantaviridae family of the Bunyavirales order. Biologically, the structure of these viruses consists of three segments of negative-stranded single-stranded ribonucleic acid molecules. Their primary carriers are wild rodents such as rats, mice, and moles. Humans can contract the disease through exposure to the urine, feces, and saliva of infected animals.

This viral infection triggers two main types of illness. The first is Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome (HFRS), which was initially detected in Korean War soldiers in the 1950s. The second is Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome or Hantavirus Cardiopulmonary Syndrome (HPS/HCPS), which was first recognized during a severe respiratory outbreak in the Four Corners region of the southwestern United States in 1993.

The highest incidence of HFRS so far has occurred in East Asia, particularly China, followed by Russia and South Korea. Milder strains are commonly found in several Scandinavian countries. Depending on the infecting strain, the HFRS mortality rate ranges from less than 1 percent to 15 percent, with the highest risk of fatality lurking in patients over 70 years of age.

Meanwhile, HCPS is considered a much more serious illness, causing death in up to 50 percent of cases. This disease is often found in the Western Hemisphere, including the United States, Canada, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, Panama, and Uruguay.

Regarding the latest developments, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported that the outbreak on the cruise ship MV Hondius stemmed from a severe respiratory infection. South African health authorities have also confirmed the discovery of the Andean variant of the hantavirus in two people on board.

CONCLUSION

Tempo's verification concluded that the claim that the hantavirus, discussed in the X-Files as an American-made virus, is false.

**Do you have information or claims that you want to have fact-checked? Contact our ChatBot. You can also send criticism, objections, or feedback for this Fact-Checking article via email to [email protected].

Fact Check: Is Andes Hantavirus Really a New Virus?

1 hari lalu

Fact Check: Moderna's 2023 Vaccine Research Does Not Prove Hantavirus Was Engineered for Profit

2 hari lalu

Fact Check: Hantavirus Is Not a Covid-like Conspiracy

2 hari lalu

Fact Check: Hantavirus Outbreak Wasn't a Cover-Up for Disney Crew Child Porn Case

3 hari lalu

Fact Check: Hantavirus Was Not Planned by Jeffrey Epstein

4 hari lalu

Fact Check: WHO Never Linked Hantavirus to Child Vaccination

6 hari lalu

Fact Check: Hantavirus Is Not a Second COVID-19 Pandemic

7 hari lalu

Fact Check: Virus Outbreaks Do Not Occur Every 6 Years

8 hari lalu

Fact Check: Viral Video of Hantavirus Patient Treatment Is Actually from Covid-19

9 hari lalu

Fact Check: Hantavirus Not Linked to UN 2030 Agenda

9 hari lalu