News of the recent hantavirus outbreak came as a surprise to most people, myself included. It was incredibly surreal as it brought back the memory of being rushed to hospital when I was 5 years old, only to learn I had this deadly virus my family had never heard of. Growing up, I always wanted to learn more, but there was so little information about the virus available. I now know that hantaviruses are caused by coming into contact with infected rodents or their urine, droppings or saliva.