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Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, the acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said Wednesday that the risk of hantavirus to the American public is “very low” amid an outbreak of the disease on a cruise ship headed to Europe.
Three people, a Dutch couple and a German national, on board the M/V Hondius ship have died from suspected hantavirus infection, while the World Health Organization (WHO) said early Wednesday morning that it evacuated three people suspected of having the disease.
Three out of the eight cases of those on board the ship have been confirmed through lab tests as of Wednesday, according to WHO.
“Our hearts go out to the passengers aboard the cruise ship M/V Hondius and their families during this difficult time,” Bhattacharya, who is also the director of the National Institutes of Health, said in a statement.
“Our CDC team began coordinating with domestic and international partners as soon as we were notified of a hantavirus situation,” he wrote.
“Hantavirus is not spread by people without symptoms, transmission requires close contact, and the risk to the American public is very low,” the acting CDC director added later. “CDC has the world’s leading experts on hantavirus and is lending its technical expertise when coordinating with interagency partners, state health offices, and international authorities on response and repatriation planning.”
In a separate statement Wednesday, the CDC said the State Department is “leading a coordinated, whole-of-government response including direct contact with passengers, diplomatic coordination, and engagement with domestic and international health authorities.”
At the start of its voyage, the cruise ship carried just under 150 passengers and crew. It departed Ushuaia, Argentina, on April 1 and stopped in Antarctica and several islands in the South Atlantic Ocean.
On April 24, nearly 30 guests disembarked the ship in the island of St. Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean, according to operator Oceanwide Expeditions.
The ship is en route from Cape Verde to the Canary Islands, following an invitation from Spain’s Ministry of Health. But Fernando Clavijo, the president of the Spanish territory, said Wednesday that the decision was made without his input.
On Monday, Oceanwide said 17 Americans were on board the ship. Bhattacharya said Wednesday that the CDC is “monitoring the health status and preparing medical support” for those people.
As of the end of 2023, 890 cases of hantavirus were reported in the U.S. since surveillance began in 1993, according to the CDC. Those who contracted the disease ranged from age 5 to 88, while 35 percent of those infected with hantavirus died.
People primarily contract the virus via contact with the urine, feces or saliva of infected rodents or by touching contaminated surfaces, according to WHO. Symptoms include headache, dizziness, chills, fever, myalgia and gastrointestinal problems, the organization notes.
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