American centers Disease Control and Prevention is monitoring In the U.S., 41 people have been infected with Andean hantavirus after a scarce outbreak occurred on a cruise ship, but health officials say the risk to the public remains low.
This includes a group of 18 cruise ship passengers who are currently in quarantine facilities in Nebraska and Georgia. The agency is also monitoring passengers who returned home before the outbreak was detected, as well as others who were exposed during travel, particularly on flights on which a symptomatic case occurred.
“Most people being monitored are considered to be at high risk, and CDC recommends that all people being monitored stay home and avoid being around people during the 42-day monitoring period,” David Fitter, CDC’s hantavirus response manager, told reporters during a media briefing Thursday. “We emphasize not to travel through all of these groups.”
Andes virus is a strain of hantavirus found in South America that can be transmitted from person to person. Typically, hantavirus is transmitted to humans through contact with rodent feces or urine. The respiratory virus can cause breathing difficulties and has a mortality rate of about 35 percent. As of Thursday, the World Health Organization had confirmed 11 cases of Andean virus among MV passengers Hondius cruise ship, including three fatalities.
A Department of Health and Human Services official confirmed to WIRED that all Americans who were on board Hondius at any point during their trip, they are now back in the US.
The CDC has legal authority to issue federal quarantine and isolation orders to prevent the spread of certain communicable diseases into or within the United States. Fitter said Thursday that the CDC was not using its authority to manage all 41 people who were potentially exposed to hantavirus.
“Our approach is risk-based and evidence-based,” he said. “We work closely with passengers and public health partners to ensure monitoring and timely access to care if symptoms develop. Our goal is to work with and alongside them to create plans based on their specific situations to protect the health and safety of passengers and American communities.”
People will be monitored for 42 days, which is as long as it may take hantavirus symptoms appear after exposure. Symptoms begin flu-like, with fever, muscle aches and fatigue, and then quickly progress to severe respiratory failure.