CDC says 41 people across the U.S. are being monitored for hantavirus

Health officials in the United States and around the world are assessing and managing potential exposures linked to the hantavirus outbreak on an expedition ship. Some of the American passengers on the ship are quarantining in Nebraska and Georgia. Others returned home earlier.

Three people on the cruise died, including a Dutch couple whom health officials believe were the first exposed to the virus while visiting South America. World Health Organization officials have said confirmed and suspected cases have been reported only among the cruise ship’s passengers or crew.

David Fitter, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention official leading the response, told reporters Thursday during a media briefing that 41 people across the U.S. are under monitoring, but there are no cases.

The people being monitored for symptoms fall into three groups. The first are the 18 passengers who were recently flown back to the United States from the Canary Islands and are being monitored in special facilities in Nebraska and Georgia. The second group comprises passengers who had already left the ship and returned home before the outbreak was identified.

In the third group are people who may have been exposed during flights with a known and symptomatic patient. That patient was the wife of the Dutch man, the first known patient to became sick, who died April 11 on board the ship. She left the ship and flew to Johannesburg, where she died on April 26.

Some of these people are at home monitoring their health in close coordination with their state and local health departments, and the CDC is supporting those efforts, Fitter said. If anyone develops symptoms, the CDC is working with local health departments to ensure rapid access to testing and care, he said.

Fitter said it will be up to state health departments to make announcements about their residents, but the CDC is working closely with state and local health officials to monitor everyone.

He said most people under monitoring are considered high-risk exposures. The CDC recommends that everyone under monitoring stay at home and avoid being around people during their 42-day monitoring period.

“We emphasize not to travel,” he said. “Across all these groups, our focus is ensuring appropriate health monitoring and quick access to care if needed.”

The CDC is dividing known contacts into two categories. It also developed a questionnaire to help identify possible exposures to the Andes virus, the only type of hantavirus that is known to spread person-to-person.

High-risk contact

The CDC says those considered high-risk contacts are:

• Anyone who was on board the Hondius from April 6 (when symptoms began for the first person who became sick) until passengers from the potentially exposed group left the ship. That’s because passengers and crew spent long periods of time together in shared spaces and living quarters, and it can be difficult for people to accurately remember when symptoms started or exactly what exposures they may have had.
• Anyone who answered “yes” to any of the items on the CDC questionnaire.
• Anyone who was on a flight with someone who was sick and was seated within two seats of that person in any direction.

Low-risk contact

The CDC says those considered lower-risk contacts are:

• Anyone who answered “no” to all the items on the questionnaire.
• Anyone who was on a flight with someone who was sick but was seated more than two seats away.

CDC questionnaire

Here are the questions the CDC recommends that people be asked to determine any potential Andes virus exposure.

Did you do any of the following activities with a person who had Andes virus (or who might have had Andes virus), specifically after they got sick? Respondents are asked to answer “yes,” “no” or “don’t know.” If yes, they are asked to provide the date they last engaged in the activity, if known.

1. Kiss or hug
2. Provide care
3. Touch or wash soiled clothes or bedding
4. Share the same bed, bedding or towels
5. Sleep in the same room
6. Share a bathroom
7. Clean the room where they were staying or the bathroom they were using
8. Have sexual contact
9. Share unwashed utensils, food or drink from the same plate/bowl, or beverages
10. Share a toothbrush
11. Share a cigarette/hookah/vaping device
12. Come into contact with their body fluid(s), such as tears/respiratory-nasal secretions/saliva/vomit/urine/sweat/blood/stool
13. Were within six feet of them in an enclosed space for at least 15 minutes cumulatively.

At a news conference in Nebraska, a CDC official said six feet is a “rough number” based on evidence about how far the virus has spread in the past.