Oregon doctor in isolation after positive hantavirus test
KPTV • • health
Key Points:
- Dr. Stephen Kornfeld, an Oregon man and retired oncologist, is in isolation at the University of Nebraska Medical Center after testing positive for Andes virus hantavirus linked to a cruise ship outbreak.
- Kornfeld helped care for sick passengers aboard the M/V Hondius, which departed from Ushuaia, Argentina, where multiple passengers developed flu-like symptoms later linked to hantavirus; three people have died and 11 cases have been reported.
- The Oregon Health Authority and CDC are closely monitoring passengers returning to the U.S., with a 42-day symptom monitoring period; no passengers have returned to Oregon yet.
- Kornfeld is currently asymptomatic but remains in a secure biocontainment unit awaiting confirmatory test results, emphasizing the virus cannot spread from the facility.
- The Andes virus, rare and typically spread by rodents, is notable for limited person-to-person transmission but is not found in Oregon.