🌅 The Hantavirus Outbreak and Whether You Should Worry

SOURCE

World Health Organization

WHAT TO KNOW

• Three people have died and another five have been sickened by a hantavirus outbreak aboard the cruise ship MV Hondius, which departed from Ushuaia, a city in southern Argentina, on April 1 carrying 150 passengers and crew. On May 7, the World Health Organization confirmed the outbreak has been caused by the Andes virus, the only known species of hantavirus that can spread between humans. The MV Hondius is now sailing towards Spain’s Canary Islands after spending three days anchored near Cape Verde off the West African coast.

WHY IT MATTERS

• Hantaviruses are a group of viruses carried by rodents that typically spread to humans through exposure to the animals’ urine, droppings, or saliva. Humans are often exposed to the virus after it becomes aerosolized and inhaled while sweeping or cleaning rodent excreta or nesting materials, though the virus can also reach humans through food or by touching a contaminated object and then the mouth.

CONNECT THE DOTS

• Global health authorities are responding aggressively to the outbreak, undertaking a massive contact tracing operation that spans several countries, including the U.S., U.K., South Africa, the Netherlands, and Switzerland. However, health officials stress the risk to the general public is low, as the Andes virus isn’t very infectious, requiring close proximity between individuals spending prolonged periods of time together in order to spread.