Andes Hantavirus Cluster Hits 11 Cases, 3 Deaths as Experts Downplay Pandemic Risk
Updated
Updated · USA TODAY · May 20
Andes Hantavirus Cluster Hits 11 Cases, 3 Deaths as Experts Downplay Pandemic Risk
9 articles · Updated · USA TODAY · May 20
At least 11 confirmed or suspected Andes hantavirus cases tied to an Atlantic cruise have killed three people, with investigators tracing the first infections to likely rodent exposure during shore visits in southern Argentina.
Andes virus can spread person to person in close contact, unlike the Sin Nombre strain seen in the U.S. Southwest, but Dr. Peter Hotez said the outbreak appears self-contained rather than COVID-like.
Six to seven weeks into the cluster, Hotez said the virus’s usual three- to four-week incubation period suggests only one or two more cases may emerge if quarantine and isolation are followed.
About 150 people were on the ship, with roughly 30 disembarking and flying home while others continued to Rotterdam, leaving health authorities to monitor exposed passengers for up to six weeks.
The episode has renewed concern over rising zoonotic spillovers, which Hotez linked to climate change, habitat disruption and urban expansion, while arguing health systems still lack ready vaccines, antivirals and antibodies.
How did a rare rodent virus manage to spread between humans for the first time ever on a boat?
Is this fatal outbreak the first major test of our newly amended global pandemic prevention regulations?