Californians were aboard hantavirus-stricken cruise ship. Is there a risk to the public?
This is read by an automated voice.Please report any issues or inconsistencies here.
Some California residents were among the 147 passengers and staff aboard a luxury cruise ship stricken by a suspected outbreak of hantavirus that has left three people dead and several others severely ill, officials confirmed Thursday.California public health officials say they are monitoring the situation after being notified by the U.S.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that some state residents were passengers on the MV Hondius.The precise status of those individuals, however, remains murky.
Hantavirus is a rare but deadly disease that attacks the lungs and is typically contracted by humans through inhalation of particles contaminated with the urine, feces or saliva of a wild rodent.However, Dr.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization, confirmed Thursday that the Andes virus — a form of hantavirus that can spread from person to person — was involved in the outbreak.Here’s what we know:As its name suggests, the Andes virus is typically found in South America.
The Dutch-flagged MV Hondius was on a 46-day journey that traveled from Antarctica with stops in Argentina.In the case of human-to-human transmission, a person would first be infected by a wild rodent’s contaminated particles and then pass the infection to someone else, said Dr.Gaby Frank, director of the Johns Hopkins Special Pathogens Center.“In previous outbreaks of Andes virus, transmission between people has been associated with close and prolonged contact, particularly among household members, intimate partners and people providing medical care,” Tedros said.
“That appears to be the case in the current situation.” None of the remaining passengers or crew members on the ship are symptomatic, he said.The ship was not permitted to allow passengers to disembark at its original destination, Cape Verde, and is sailing for Spain’s Canary Islands.“I want ...