Maryland health leaders are monitoring two residents who may have been exposed to hantavirus during international travel.
The possible exposure is tied to a flight that included a passenger from the cruise ship where the started.
The two Maryland residents were not passengers on the ship and are being monitored out of an abundance of caution. Experts with the stressed the risk to the public remains very low.
The incubation period for hantavirus can range from four to 42 days, which is why health officials continue monitoring people who may have been exposed. Asymptomatic individuals are not considered infectious, according to state and federal health officials.
Dr. Kari Debbink, a scientist at Johns Hopkins University’s Bloomberg School of Public Health, told 海角社区app the strain identified in recent reports, the Andes virus, is the only known strain of hantavirus that can spread from person to person.
No cases have been reported in Maryland since 2019, and none have involved this strain. With the Andes virus, MDH said person-to-person transmission “is rare and generally requires close, prolonged contact with an infected individual or their bodily fluids.”
Most hantavirus cases in the United States are linked to contact with rodents. The Andes virus, which has been reported primarily in South America, is unusual because of its limited potential for person-to-person spread.
“I think what we’re seeing is on par with what we would expect for this particular virus,” Debbink said, adding that the low risk to the public means people shouldn’t panic.
“This is a virus that doesn’t spread super efficiently between people. In past outbreaks with Andes virus, what we’ve seen is that it spreads between people that have come into close and prolonged contact. This isn’t something that spreads as readily as COVID or flu, for instance,” Debbink said.
At least 10 confirmed or suspected cases of hantavirus have been linked to the cruise ship outbreak, including three deaths, according to public health officials.
Health officials are conducting contact tracing connected to the cruise ship, and passengers returning home are being monitored by health officials in their home states, including Virginia.
The Maryland Department of Health said it is coordinating with federal and international partners, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as the investigation continues.
One Virginian was among the 17 Americans aboard the cruise ship and is now at home being monitored for symptoms.
Health officials said anyone who develops symptoms such as fever, fatigue or shortness of breath after recent international travel should contact a healthcare provider.
“As long as we’re not seeing cases pop up outside of (the World Health Organization’s) contact tracing, we’re in pretty good shape. So far, all the cases have been associated with people that were on the ship,” Debbink said.
海角社区app’s Nick Iannelli contributed to this report.
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