Hantavirus latest updates: 18 people being monitored for hantavirus in Nebraska and Georgia
Yahoo • • health
Key Points:
- Dozens of passengers from the MV Hondius cruise ship, including 18 in the U.S., are being monitored for hantavirus, with 16 at the University of Nebraska Medical Center and two at Emory University Hospital in specialized quarantine and biocontainment units.
- The World Health Organization (WHO) reports nine hantavirus cases linked to the outbreak, with seven confirmed and two suspected, and three deaths involving a Dutch couple and a German national.
- A French passenger recently tested positive with worsening condition, while multiple countries, including the U.S., are tracking passengers who disembarked on April 24 at St. Helena island without contact tracing.
- U.S. states such as Arizona, California, Georgia, New Jersey, Texas, and Virginia are monitoring residents for potential infections related to the cruise, but no cases have been reported so far.
- WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus noted the initial cases involved travel through South American countries with exposure to rat species carrying the virus, emphasizing the overall risk of a wider outbreak remains very low.