Texas health officials contact residents linked to MV Hondius hantavirus outbreak
Updated
Updated · KTRK-TV · May 7
Texas health officials contact residents linked to MV Hondius hantavirus outbreak
13 articles · Updated · KTRK-TV · May 7
The Texas Department of State Health Services said the CDC alerted it to two passengers who left the cruise and returned to the US before the outbreak was identified.
Both Texans told public health workers they have no symptoms and had no contact with a sick person on board, and agreed to daily temperature checks and to report any illness.
Officials said hantaviruses usually spread through wild rodent droppings or urine, but the Andes virus strain involved in the Hondius outbreak can spread between people in limited circumstances.
How did a rare rodent virus start spreading between people on a cruise ship where no rodents were found?
With an eight-week incubation period, are pre-cruise health screenings becoming useless against silent disease threats?