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Three Die in Rare Hantavirus Outbreak on Cruise Ship; 41 Passengers Monitored, CDC Says Public Risk Very Low
Three people died after a rare hantavirus outbreak on the cruise ship MV Hondius. U.S. officials began public briefings on May 9, nearly a week after the World Health Organization confirmed cases.
May 16, 5:00 PM·2m read1 source
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Three people died after a rare hantavirus outbreak on the cruise ship MV Hondius in the Atlantic Ocean. More than 140 passengers and crew members were on board when the ship left Argentina on April 1. Forty-one people are now being monitored for exposure, including the highest-risk passengers who are in specialized quarantine facilities in Atlanta and Nebraska.
U.S. officials did not give their first public briefing on the outbreak until May 9. The World Health Organization had confirmed hantavirus infections linked to the MV Hondius almost a week earlier. The CDC notified states that American passengers had returned from the ship before issuing a formal notice to clinicians, health departments and laboratories, which was not published until late last Friday.
Interim CDC leader Jay Bhattacharya told reporters on Friday that the risk to the general public remains extremely low. He said there are currently no cases of the Andes virus, the hantavirus causing this outbreak, in the United States. Bhattacharya added that the CDC’s coordination with federal, state and local health departments is ongoing and will continue until everyone potentially exposed is through their monitoring period, home and healthy.
David Fitter, incident manager for the CDC’s hantavirus response, said in a call with reporters on Wednesday that this is not a novel virus and it is a known virus. Experts say hantavirus rarely spreads among people and only with close contact over a period of time rather than casual interactions.
The CDC lost the permanent head of the Division of High-Consequence Pathogens, which includes hantavirus, in December.
The permanent director of the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, which leads CDC’s hantavirus response, departed, leaving a new acting director in place. Debra Houry, formerly CDC’s chief medical officer, said there has been significant turnover of senior scientific leaders at the CDC.
