Health officials are continuing to monitor passengers linked to a deadly hantavirus outbreak connected to a luxury cruise ship, but a Houston infectious disease expert says the risk of widespread transmission in the United States remains extremely low.
According to reports, passengers from Georgia, Arizona, and California who were aboard the cruise ship have returned home and are now being monitored. The New York Times reported that none of the passengers being monitored has shown signs of illness.
The outbreak has drawn international attention after three people died from infections tied to the virus, according to the World Health Organization.
Health officials are now conducting contact tracing efforts to help prevent additional cases.
Images released from the scene showed medical crews evacuating passengers from the cruise ship in the Netherlands, including one person transported on a stretcher.
Experts say the strain involved in the outbreak is known as the Andes virus, a rare type of hantavirus that has shown the potential to spread between people through close contact.
Symptoms of hantavirus can appear anywhere from one to six weeks after exposure to infected rodents, according to health officials. Early symptoms often resemble the flu and can include fever, chills, fatigue, and muscle aches.
Dr. Linda Yancey, an infectious disease specialist with Memorial Hermann Health System, told KPRC 2 that Houstonians should not panic.
“So the odds of this impacting the U.S. are slim to none,” Yancey said. “This particular strain is the only strain of hantavirus that has ever even indicated that it might spread person to person.”
Yancey emphasized that experts are still studying whether person-to-person transmission occurred in this case and said the situation is far different from the rapid spread seen during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“So this is not a coronavirus situation where you can have rapid spread to many, many people,” she said.
Health experts say hantavirus infections are most commonly linked to exposure to rodents or areas contaminated with rodent droppings or urine.
As summer travel season approaches, Yancey said travelers should remain aware of their surroundings, avoid contact with mice and rats, and stay away from areas where rodents may be living.