Health officials in several countries are conducting contact tracing following a hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship that has killed three people and confirmed five cases. The Andes virus involved in the outbreak does not spread easily between people, but officials are identifying and monitoring individuals who may have been exposed as the virus can potentially spread between people in rare cases. Dozens of potentially exposed passengers from at least 12 countries, including several U.S. states, have already left the ship.
- 🔍 Authorities in St. Helena are monitoring “higher-risk contacts” and requiring them to isolate for 45 days, according to the St. Helena government.
- 🇸🇬 Two men who disembarked in St. Helena and traveled through South Africa were isolated at Singapore’s National Center for Infectious Diseases and were being tested for hantavirus upon arrival.
- 🦠 Hantaviruses usually spread when people inhale contaminated residue of rodent droppings, though the Andes virus “may be able to spread between people in rare cases” and “viruses can change.”
Source: AP News – Read the full article →
