18 Americans who were passengers aboard the MV Hondius cruise ship, including three New Yorkers, are being monitored at health facilities in the United States on Tuesday.
The three New Yorkers arrived at Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska on Monday and are expected to undergo a 42-day monitoring period, state health officials said. One of the passengers is from New York City, and the other two are residents of Orange County and Westchester County.
It is not yet clear how long the New York residents will stay in Nebraska and return to NY, New York State Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald said on Monday.
“At this point, it is important to emphasize that there is no immediate risk to the public. We will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates as needed,” he said.
Here is everything you need to know about hantavirus in New York, including how the virus is transmitted.
How is hantavirus transmitted?
Hantaviruses, according to the World Health Organization, are zoonotic viruses that naturally infect rodents. The virus typically spreads through the urine, feces or saliva of infected rodents; it can also occur through less common rodent bites.
The WHO stated that anything involving close contact with rodents, including cleaning enclosed or poorly ventilated spaces, farming, forestry work and sleeping in rodent-infested areas, can increase the exposure risk.
Though human-to-human transmission is rare, the WHO has confirmed that the strain at the center of the outbreak is the Andes virus, which is the only strain documented to spread from person-to-person.
Transmission between people usually occurs with close and prolonged contact, typically among household members or intimate partners, according to the WHO. Human-to-human transmission also typically happens during the early phase of the illness, which is when the virus is most transmissible.
“WHO works with countries and partners to strengthen surveillance, laboratory capacity, risk communication and community engagement, early detection, patient care and outbreak response for hantavirus infections,” the organization stated on its website.
What is hantavirus
According to the New York State Department of Health, hantavirus disease is caused by several different strains of hantaviruses, which are typically found in rodents around the world.
The viruses found in North America can cause Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome, which is a severe, potentially fatal, lung disease, the health department noted on its website. It can also cause a milder form of the disease, which is known as Non-Pulmonary Hantavirus infection.
There is no specific cure, vaccine or treatment for hantavirus infection, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stated that it is survivable if medical care is sought early.
NY preparation, monitoring CDC response
Governor Kathy Hochul said on Monday that the state is coordinating with federal health officials and prepping for any potential scenarios. She, too, maintained that the risk to the general public remains low.
“We don’t know whether those individuals will be returning to New York,” Hochul said during a briefing Monday. “I’ve activated researchers in New York to start preparing for worst case scenarios and hope they don’t come.”
Hochul also noted concerns about federal public health capacity.
“I want to make sure that the CDC is capable of handling something, should it grow larger than they’re predicting,” she said.
What we know about the outbreak
The MV Hondius, a luxury cruise ship operated by Netherlands-based Oceanwide Expeditions, departed Ushuaia, Argentina, in early April and traveled through several remote locations, including Antarctica, South Georgia, Tristan da Cunha, Ascension Island and Saint Helena, according to the WHO.
The current hantavirus outbreak is believed to have started from a Dutch couple aboard the ship, who had gone on a bird-watching trip through Argentina, Chile and Uruguay prior to boarding, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the WHO, said at a May 7 briefing.
The couple’s bird-watching trip included visits to sites where “the species of rat that’s known to carry hantavirus was present,” he said.
The couple has since died from their infections, USA Today reported.
There have been nine confirmed hantavirus cases and two suspected cases linked to the cruise as of Monday. One case includes an individual on Tristan Da Cunha. Three deaths have been reported since April 11.
Out of the 18 Americans who were aboard the cruise ship, which includes the three New Yorkers, 15 of them are quarantining at the University of Nebraska’s National Quarantine Center and one passenger is at the university’s biocontainment unit.
Two passengers, including one who is symptomatic, have been sent to a biocontainment unit at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, for “further assessment,” officials said at a news briefing on Monday.
One U.S. passenger has tested positive.
Contributing: USA Today Network-New York Reporters Emily Barnes and Alexandra Rivera
— Madison Scott is a New York Connect reporter, covering entertainment, breaking and consumer news, and trending topics with a focus on stories that matter to readers across New York state. She also has an interest in how the system helps or doesn’t help families with missing loved ones. She can be reached at MDScott@USATodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: How is hantavirus transmitted? What to know after deadly cruise outbreak
Reporting by Madison Scott, New York Connect Team / Rockland/Westchester Journal News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
