41 People In US Under Monitoring For Hantavirus: CDC

Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times,

Forty-one people are under monitoring in the United States for hantavirus, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on May 14.

Most of those being monitored were at one time on board the MV Hondius, a cruise ship that experienced an outbreak of the disease after it sailed from Argentina on April 1 to remote locations such as Antarctica.

Eighteen people were flown from the ship recently to medical facilities in Nebraska and Georgia for quarantining during the incubation period for the virus, which is up to 42 days.

Some other individuals left the ship before the hantavirus outbreak was detected and are at home in states such as Arizona and California.

The third group is composed of people who were exposed to hantavirus during travel because they came close to cruise ship passengers, particularly on planes, Dr. David Fitter, a CDC official, told reporters on a call.

Eleven Hondius passengers worldwide have been confirmed or are suspected to have contracted hantavirus, according to the World Health Organization. Three people who were on board and either tested positive or showed symptoms of the virus, such as fever, have died.

Humans typically contract hantavirus from infected rodents, but person-to-person transmission is believed to have occurred on board the vessel.

“Epidemiological investigations continue to better define epidemiological links between cases and exposure factors on the ship, as well as to try to understand the potential source of exposure,” the World Health Organization said in a statement on May 14.

No mandatory quarantine orders have been imposed as of yet in the United States.

“We are working closely with passengers and public health partners to ensure monitoring and rapid access to care if symptoms develop,” Fitter said.

“Our goal is to work with them and alongside them, building plans based on their specific situations to protect the health and safety of passengers and American communities. We understand that these passengers have already been through a difficult experience. This coordinated approach reflects our respect for them as partners in keeping themselves and their communities safe.”

Kansas officials said earlier Thursday that three residents who were not on the Hondius were exposed to a person with hantavirus.

The three are being monitored, according to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.

Other states, including Maryland, New Jersey, and Washington state, have said residents were possibly exposed on flights.

The CDC says the risk to the public is low, with hantavirus transmission believed to only occur through close contact with infected people or their bodily fluids.