WHO Says Hantavirus Risk Is Low for 18 Monitored Americans as 3 Deaths Spur Concern
Updated
Updated · CBS New York · May 11
WHO Says Hantavirus Risk Is Low for 18 Monitored Americans as 3 Deaths Spur Concern
11 articles · Updated · CBS New York · May 11
Eighteen U.S. cruise passengers are being monitored at specialized facilities after a hantavirus outbreak linked to three deaths, but WHO and U.S. officials say the threat to the public remains extremely low.
Andes virus—the South American strain tied to the outbreak—is the only hantavirus known to spread person to person, and officials say it typically requires prolonged close contact with someone already showing symptoms.
Two to six weeks of incubation has also slowed transmission and given health authorities more time to track exposed travelers; some passengers are nearing the end of that window this week.
Unlike COVID-19, experts say hantavirus infects deep in the lungs rather than the upper airway, making it far harder to expel enough virus for easy airborne spread in the broader community.
The outbreak likely began on land. Is focusing on the cruise ship ignoring a greater environmental danger?
With a death rate far exceeding COVID-19, why is this hantavirus outbreak considered a low global risk?
A hantavirus vaccine is in development. What’s stopping it from being used to halt this deadly outbreak now?