Today’s newsletter examines the growing dangers faced by workers across health, mining, journalism and tech – from disease scares and deadly misinformation to legal battles and workplace violence.

We’ll start off with a brief look at health workers’ concerns in Tenerife, Spain, as nurses fear a repeat of Covid due to the hantavirus-stricken luxury cruise ship, the MV Hondius, that’s expected to reach the island on Saturday.

Then we’ll unpack the tragic murders of health workers in the Democratic Republic of Congo due to a fake rumor claiming a mysterious illness had caused men's genitals ​to atrophy, showing the power and danger of health misinformation.

We’ll continue the workers’ rights focus in today’s Talking Points section too, so keep scrolling for more on the lawsuits around diversity, equity and inclusion in the United States in medical schools and ‌news organizations.

But before we dive into the health stories, please note that there will be no Climate Focus tomorrow, but I’ve got a few environmental-related stories on my radar to check out whilst I’m away:

* ‘It will be just like Covid ... People are worried’

Let’s take a look at what hantavirus is before examining health workers’ concerns.

Hantaviruses are rodent-borne viruses that can infect people and cause illness. ​The World Health Organization estimates there are 10,000 to 100,000 human cases globally each year, with severity varying by strain.

The strain identified on the ship is the Andes hantavirus, which typically circulates in Argentina and Chile. The Hondius set off from Argentina on April 1. The ​Andes virus is the only known hantavirus that can spread through close, prolonged human-to-human contact.

There have been eight known and suspected hantavirus cases linked to the MV Hondius cruise ship carrying 150 people, the WHO said, ⁠including the three deaths.

The news stirred fears that hospitals and health centers on Tenerife would have to be locked down, according to a nurse who asked not to be identified.

"It will be just like Covid ... People are worried about their children, elderly relatives and the vulnerable," the nurse said, adding ​that the islands' quarantine protocol for viruses, if one was declared, would affect schools and healthcare centers.

* ‘Misinformation really led to death and murder’

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, health workers are fearful of their lives due to fake health information.

Last year, in Tshopo, in the north central part of the ​country on the Tshopo River, rumors rippled through towns claiming a mysterious illness had caused men's genitals to atrophy.

Within days, testimonials proliferated on social media that amplified the imaginary threat, triggering a real-life panic that turned deadly before the government could react.

In all, at least 17 killings related to the atrophy rumor have been reported, including health workers, according to the WHO-led Africa Infodemic Response Alliance, which monitors fake health information. Reuters could not independently verify the other deaths.

Groups attacked and killed four health workers conducting vaccination research in an episode that took place in October, four officials and a survivor told Reuters - a deadly example of the rising danger posed by online ​health misinformation.

In Congo, misinformation "really led to death and murder," said the Nairobi-based alliance's director Elodie Ho. "It started in communities. It spread into social media and local media. It was amplified by those actors."

An examination of over a dozen video testimonials by Reuters, one of them viewed hundreds of thousands ​of times, found that churches helped spread the rumors in Tshopo. Overseas accounts and local news media also played a role.

Click here for the full Reuters deep-dive.

* Talking Points

* ESG Lens

In keeping with today’s main focus on health, today’s Lens takes a look at the growing ‘Make America Healthy Again’ (MAHA) movement, which helped usher ​President Donald Trump back to the White House for a second term.

In the Reuters/Ipsos poll, 79% of respondents expressed concern about impacts to their health from chemicals or food additives, and from microplastics in drinking water. The poll, which was conducted online April 15-20, had a margin of error of 2 percentage points.

Click here for some more MAHA concerns such as ​affordability amid the rising cost of living.

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