A deadly hantavirus outbreak tied to a cruise ship has triggered a public health warning from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as 17 American passengers return to the United States.
The deadly hantavirus outbreak onboard the MV Hondius has drawn global attention in recent weeks. Several passengers fell ill during the voyage, with three people dying and multiple other suspected cases. The outbreak has raised alarm partly because the strain involved – called the Andes strain – is one of the few forms of hantavirus that can spread from person to person, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
At least one passenger returning from Tenerife, Spain, has already tested positive for hantavirus, while another reportedly showed mild symptoms. Officials said two passengers were transported back to the US in a biocontainment unit “out of an abundance of caution.”
The situation quickly sparked fears online about another potential global health emergency, with some comparing it to the early days of Covid-19. But acting CDC director Jay Bhattacharya pushed back on those concerns during an appearance on CNN.
“This is not COVID, Jake, and we don’t want to treat it like COVID,” Bhattacharya said, according to VT.
“We don’t want to cause a public panic”
Health officials say the outbreak involves multiple cases connected to the Andes virus, which carries a fatality rate that can reach as high as 50 percent. Despite the dramatic evacuation, the WHO says the risk to the general public remains low.
Still, Bhattacharya emphasized that public health authorities already have established containment measures for hantavirus outbreaks.
“We don’t want to cause a public panic over this. We want to treat it with the hantavirus protocols that we – that, again, were successful in containing outbreaks in the past. And so we followed those protocols.
“This health alert is coming up because, again, there’s this discrete event of the 17 arriving in the United States very, very soon. And so we just want to make sure that the medical community understands this.
“The key message I want to send to your audience is that this is not COVID. This is not going to lead to [that] kind of outbreak.
“We shouldn’t be panicking when the evidence doesn’t warrant it.”
Hantavirus – Andes strain
Instead of immediately returning home, the passengers are being taken to Nebraska, where they will remain at the National Quarantine Unit for additional medical evaluation.
The likelihood of infection depends heavily on whether someone had close contact with a symptomatic patient.
“The risk is a high risk if they have been in close contact with somebody who was symptomatic,” Bhattacharya explained.
He added that health authorities will classify passengers based on their level of exposure.
“If they weren’t in close contact with someone who was symptomatic, then we’re going to deem them a low risk. If they were in close contact, we’re going to deem them a medium or high risk.”
