Federal officials are receiving daily updates on the response to an Andes hantavirus outbreak linked to a luxury cruise ship that resulted in three fatalities, the acting director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Friday. The official emphasized that, to date, no cases have been confirmed within the United States and that the risk to the general public remains very low.
According to the CDC acting director, Jay Bhattacharya - who also serves as director of the National Institutes of Health - both the White House and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. are being briefed every day on developments. Bhattacharya told reporters on a media call that he had taken part in several of these briefings and that federal leaders are following the outbreak closely.
Forty-one U.S. residents are currently being monitored for possible infection, the CDC said. Of those, 18 were passengers on the cruise ship and returned to the United States before authorities identified the outbreak. Those 18 individuals have been placed under quarantine in Nebraska and Atlanta, officials said.
The CDC has issued guidance to help identify and monitor people who may have been exposed, according to Dr. David Fitter, the agency incident manager for the hantavirus response. Fitter outlined criteria used to determine who should be considered at higher risk. One group considered high risk are people who were on the ship between April 6, when the first person became ill, and May 10, when the last person disembarked.
Other contacts classified as high risk include individuals who reported close contact with someone sick with hantavirus or their bodily fluids, and people who were seated in close proximity to an infected person during air travel, Fitter said. He emphasized that the Andes virus does not transmit easily, noting that spread has been associated with close, prolonged contact.
"I want to reinforce that Andes virus does not transmit easily," Fitter said, adding that high-risk contacts should remain at home and limit interactions with others for six weeks.
Fitter advised that high-risk contacts coordinate any essential travel with their state health department and be prepared to self-isolate immediately if they develop symptoms. The guidance is intended to limit further spread while monitoring for onset of illness among those with potential exposure.
Some public health scientists have criticized the initial U.S. response to the outbreak as sluggish. The Health Secretary has previously faced criticism for his handling of a separate measles outbreak, the CDC acting director acknowledged. The statements indicate heightened scrutiny of the federal response as officials balance monitoring and containment measures.
The CDC and other federal agencies continue to provide updates to senior officials and to implement the agency s guidance for identifying and tracking contacts to reduce the chance of onward transmission. At this stage, with no confirmed U.S. cases and the majority of potentially exposed individuals being monitored or quarantined, the official assessment remains that the general public faces a very low risk.
Reporting note: Officials provided the numbers of U.S. residents under monitoring and the locations of quarantine as part of their public statements. The criteria for high-risk contact and recommended precautions are those outlined by CDC incident leadership.