Is the US at risk? Everything you need to know about the new Hantavirus quarantines

Seventeen American passengers aboard a cruise ship struck by a lethal Hantavirus outbreak are expected to disembark in the Canary Islands this Sunday before being transported to Omaha, Nebraska for mandatory quarantine. 

The outbreak, which began after the ship departed Argentina in April, has already resulted in three deaths and multiple confirmed infections. 

While most hantavirus are spread via rodents, the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed this cluster involves the Andes virus-the only strain known to spread through person-to-person contact. 

Former CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden highlighted the danger of the environment, noting that cruise ships are unique for their close quarters and shared ventilation, which facilitate microbial spread.

Health officials in Arizona, California, Georgia, Texas, and Virginia are currently monitoring passengers who disembarked before the ship was isolated. Because symptoms can take up to six weeks to appear, the CDC has classified the response as a Level Three, signaling a low risk to the general public.

“This is a cruise ship outbreak. Cruise ships are very unique environments. People are in literally close quarters, the ventilation is not ideal, there are a lot of things that are touched by many people at the same time, they are hard to clean well, and so we see lots of microbes spreading on cruise ships,” said Former CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden.

“This particular strain of the hantavirus is quite lethal. Now, that is not to say, this is not the next pandemic. Hantavirus is not set up to cause a pandemic the way, say, COVID was at this point, and there is nothing that suggests it is on its way to doing that,” Dr. Frieden added.

The cruise ship is scheduled to dock in the Canary Islands this Sunday. Upon arrival, 17 American passengers will disembark and be transported to a specialized facility in Omaha, Nebraska, to undergo quarantine. 

No cases of this Hantavirus strain have been reported in Nevada to date. Researchers at UNLV, who currently track COviD-19 variants through wastewater, confirmed that Hantavirus is not yet included in their active testing panel. 

Experts note that since the virus is shed through urine, it is theoretically possible to detect it in wastewater systems if testing is expanded.