A chilling moment from the science-fiction franchise The X-Files has resurfaced online as hantavirus cases continue to make headlines around the world, and viewers are speculating whether there was any truth to the fiction.
As of May 8, 2026, eight probable cases of hantavirus infection on board the Dutch expedition cruise ship MV Hondius, including three fatalities, were reported to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Highlights
- An unsettling twist from The X-Files series has gone viral amid the ongoing hantavirus outbreak.
- Netizens have been comparing the franchise’s hantavirus storyline to real-world scenarios, citing recent comments from an American politician.
- The CDC and WHO are tracking hantavirus cases as experts warn that the USA may not be prepared to tackle the outbreak.
The hantavirus was a central plot in the 1998 film, The X-Files: Fight the Future, set between seasons 5 and 6 of Chris Carter's television series of the same name.
Conspiracy theorists, who have spotted eerily similar themes between the film and reality, have been sharing clips from the movie, which describes the situation as a “plague to end all plagues.”
“The X-Files is loaded with truths that aren’t so ‘out there’ anymore,” one user wrote.
A “silent weapon” twist from The X-Files movie has gone viral amid the hantavirus outbreak
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Across both the film and series, The X-Files repeatedly used infectious diseases and outbreak scenarios to explore paranoia, government conspiracies, and fear of the unknown.
In the 1998 movie, the hantavirus was used as a staged, engineered pandemic to conceal an extraterrestrial invasion.
The film opens in North Texas, where people suddenly start passing away after a boy falls into a cave containing a mysterious substance. The authorities publicly pass it off as a hantavirus outbreak.
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Elsewhere, Fox Mulder and Dana Scully, played by David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson, investigate the destruction of criminal evidence after an explosion in an FBI building in Dallas, Texas.
At one point during the investigation, Dr. Alvin Kurtzweil (Martin Landau), a former colleague of Mulder’s father, reveals to him that the hantavirus was a government cover-up.
Dr. Kurtzwell calls the real reason behind the fatalities “a silent weapon for a quiet war.”
“The systematic release of an indiscriminate organism, for which the men who will bring it on still have no cure,” the doctor says in the viral video. “They’ve been working on this for 50 years.”
“These men have been secretly negotiating a planned Armageddon,” he adds, hinting at the collaboration of the Syndicate, a secret group of US government officials, with the alien “Colonists.”
A politician’s recent comments about an “alien breeding program” have fanned the flames of The X-Files comparisons
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The comparisons with the film come as public concern around hantavirus has increased following reports of potential infections in several US states.
People have been particularly wary of the viral infection, which is primarily spread through contact with infected rodent urine, saliva, or droppings, given their first-hand experience with the COVID-19 pandemic six years ago.
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Some have attributed their concerns to Matt Gaetz’s recent confession on The Benny Show.
The former U.S. representative for Florida's 1st congressional district from 2017 to 2024 said on the podcast that he was once told about a secret “alien breeding program” maintained by the U.S. government.
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“I had someone come and brief me who was in a military uniform, worked for the United States Army, that was briefing me on the locations of hybrid breeding programs where captured aliens were breeding with humans to create some hybrid race that could engage in intergalactic communication,” he told the host, Benny Johnson.
Gaetz admitted he didn’t verify the whistleblower’s claims, but said he was told there were between six and 12 breeding facilities around the country.
The USA may not be adequately prepared for a hantavirus outbreak
Sources told ABC News on May 8 that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has declared the hantavirus outbreak a “Level 3 Emergency Response,” which means the threat to the general public is low, but it is being closely monitored.
“It is a de*dly virus with a 30-40% mortality rate,” physician Dr. Ashish Jha told the outlet. “It can take a while for symptoms to show up.”
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Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo, CEO of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, expressed concern about how well the United States is prepared to tackle another viral outbreak, especially amid recent billion-dollar budget cuts by the Trump administration.
“It’s not limited to hantavirus,” she said. “It’s really how well a country is prepared for a disease threat. And right now, I’m very sorry to say that we’re not prepared.”
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The luxury cruise where the disease spread, operated by Oceanwide Expeditions, began its journey on April 1 in Ushuaia, Argentina.
Even though health officials are actively tracking down potential cases in at least 12 countries, about 30 people worldwide, including five American residents, disembarked from the ship on April 24 at the island of St. Helena before contact tracing began.
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A passenger aboard the ship told ABC News that currently no one is showing signs of the viral infection. The ship is set to arrive in Spain’s Canary Islands on Sunday, sparking protests from local citizens fearing a repeat of COVID-19.
However, Dr. Jha assured that it is highly unlikely, as this virus “doesn’t spread that easily” and can be tackled with tracking and monitoring of the cruise passengers.
"Truths are often portrayed in fiction." The internet weighed in on The X-Files-hantavirus conspiracy theory amid the ongoing outbreak
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