CDC Reports No Hantavirus Cases in U.S. While Monitoring 41 Individuals
Public health experts emphasize low risk of widespread emergency despite cruise ship outbreak
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- The CDC reports zero hantavirus cases in the U.S. while monitoring 41 people following a cruise ship outbreak.
- Experts state the risk of a global crisis is low, as the Andes strain does not spread easily between humans.
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The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said there are no hantavirus cases in the country as of Thursday, as it monitors 41 people for the virus.
The agency said the risk to the public remains low in the aftermath of an outbreak on a cruise ship.
The World Health Organization has reported 11 total cases of hantavirus linked to the outbreak, eight confirmed by lab testing, including three deaths.
The spread of the virus has sparked concerns about a potential global health crisis only a few years removed from the devastation of the Covid-19 pandemic. However, public health experts have stressed the risks from the outbreak are limited, and have cautioned that it likely will not cause a widespread health emergency.
The Andes strain of hantavirus associated with the outbreak, unlike other illnesses including Covid, measles and the flu, does not spread easily between people.
Even so, more confirmed cases could emerge in the coming weeks because it has a long incubation period, according to experts.
Some public health experts have said the U.S. response to the spread of hantavirus, slowed by staffing cuts at the CDC and the Trump administration's decision to leave the WHO, has exposed cracks in its readiness to handle another health crisis.
