CDC Monitors Potential Andes Virus Exposures After Cruise Ship Outbreak

CDC staff are among the world's foremost hantavirus experts and have decades of experience responding to and controlling outbreaks. The agency previously worked on a 2018 Andes virus outbreak in Delaware. Andes virus is a type of hantavirus that can cause hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, which affects the lungs.

Early symptoms include fatigue, fever and muscle aches, particularly in the thighs, hips, back and shoulders. About half of patients also experience headaches, dizziness, chills or abdominal problems such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and pain. Symptoms appear between four and 42 days after exposure.

Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome can be fatal, with 38 percent of people who develop respiratory symptoms dying from the disease. There is no specific treatment, and patients receive supportive care including rest, hydration and symptom management. Testing is available only for people who have symptoms and a known exposure history.

The CDC is tracking three potential exposure groups: repatriated passengers, travelers who returned home before the outbreak was identified, and in-flight contacts exposed to symptomatic cases. The agency is conducting daily health check-ins with state and local health departments, ensuring rapid access to testing and care, and developing testing protocols based on available scientific evidence.

The Nebraska Biocontainment Unit at the University of Nebraska Medical Center was selected as the primary U.S. entry point for assessing returning travelers, who will be monitored for the full 42-day incubation period. Two passengers are being assessed at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, which also operates a high-containment facility.

The 42-day monitoring period for passengers began on May 10 when they departed the cruise ship. Passengers are not being quarantined but are instead undergoing assessment and monitoring. The countdown for the monitoring period started on May 10. State and local health departments are also monitoring U.S. residents who previously disembarked the ship, after the CDC sent their contact information to relevant jurisdictions.

Andes virus is normally found in areas of South America and is not a new virus. Hantavirus disease surveillance in the United States began in 1993 following an outbreak in the Four Corners region. From 1993 to 2023, a total of 890 cases of hantavirus disease were reported in the United States.

Transmission is usually limited to close contacts involving prolonged direct physical contact, time spent in enclosed spaces, or exposure to saliva, respiratory secretions or other body fluids. Hantaviruses are typically spread by rodents. The CDC has developed guidance for public health departments on managing passengers returning from the cruise ship.

The agency stated that the risk of a pandemic caused by this outbreak and the overall risk to the American public and travelers remains extremely low. Individuals who believe they had contact with an infected person and are experiencing symptoms are advised to contact a medical professional immediately.