The hantavirus has sparked headlines as an outbreak occurred on a cruise ship. The MV Hondius is the cruise ship in which the hantavirus has caused three deaths as of May 7. Reports show that at least one Californian was on the ship that contained the deadly virus, but so far, health officials are not suggesting major risks of infections or exposures to Californians. There were 147 passengers on the ship in total.
As of May 11, 18 Americans who were on the cruise ship have returned to the states. Four of them are Californians who are closely being monitored, according to health officials. Two were taken to a private health facility in Nebraska for close monitoring, while one is being monitored in California. One of the residents is from the Bay Area and is currently at home and isolated, according to CBS News.
Three of them were on the MV Hondius ship while the fourth was exposed on a flight that had not taken off at the time of the exposure, according to State Public Health Officer Erica Pan in a statement to City News Service.
The CDC notified the California Department of Health on May 7 that an unspecified number of Californians “were onboard the cruise ship that has passengers affected with the hantavirus”; therefore, exposed.
A statement from the department is as follows: “We are coordinating with local health officials, as needed, to monitor returning travelers. There is no information that the California residents are ill or infected.” The statement continued, “To protect patient privacy, CDPH cannot disclose the travelers’ residences or other information. At this time, the risk to public health in California is low.” Health officials also suggested that the Hantavirus is less serious than COVID-19 and urged the public to remain calm.
Several other people on the cruise ship have become ill. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), hantaviruses are a deadly set of viruses with different strands, but the most common is mainly found in and spread through rodents. “The Andes virus is the only type of hantavirus that is known to spread person-to-person. This spread is usually limited to people who have close contact with the ill person,” according to the CDC’s website. The Andes virus is predominantly found in South America and causes the Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS). While it is rare, it does have a 30 to 40 percent fatality rate and takes 1 to 8 weeks to fully develop into HPS after exposure. According to health officials, there is no cure or vaccine, and symptoms are similar to influenza, also known simply as the flu.