Just weeks ago, you may never have heard of hantavirus. Then it became a frequent topic on the news and in discussions with friends and family in New York City and around the world.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and global health authorities are closely monitoring the situation, following an outbreak of a type of hantavirus on a cruise ship traveling in the Atlantic Ocean. The CDC says the overall risk to the American public and travelers remains extremely low.
The World Health Organization reported the outbreak on May 2. Hantaviruses are a family of viruses usually spread by rodents that can cause serious illness and death.
Area health experts say there is no new concern for New Yorkers and no need to take special precautions.
“Outbreaks of this virus are really rare, and most of those cases that have been reported have occurred in the western areas of the United States,” says Bernard Camins, MD, Professor of Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and an expert in infectious diseases. “There is no reason for people to worry, though health experts will continue to work to identify what has caused this unusual outbreak.”
Bernard Camins, MD
If you are planning a cruise and are concerned about the recent outbreak, you should speak with your doctor, according to Dr. Camins.
What makes the recent outbreak unusual is that it involves an outbreak of a hantavirus strain that previously could rarely be passed from person to person. Normally hantavirus is spread through direct contact with rodents or rodent droppings.
In fact, the Andes strain that is involved in these cases is the only type of hantavirus that is known to spread from person to person. This spread is usually limited to people who have close contact with the sick person with the virus, according to the CDC.
People most at risk for hantaviruses are those who handle rodents or clean up after them, such as pest exterminators or animal caretakers, according to the CDC.
Over a 30-year period, the CDC says there have been 890 cases of hantavirus in the United States. About 35 percent of those cases resulted in death. About 94 percent of cases occurred west of the Mississippi River, with the largest concentration in New Mexico, Colorado, and Arizona. Farm workers are at high risk for hantavirus infection, according to the CDC.
Because hantavirus is spread by rodents, there is a special concern among New Yorkers who may be accustomed to rodents in very populated areas, especially apartment buildings, or for those who may spend time at a country home.
But there is no new guidance from health authorities. They continue to recommend the usual precautions you should take if you are living, working, or cleaning in areas where there may be rodents, which would include, for example, making sure to keep rodents out of your living areas and following safe clean up practices. The CDC provides detailed guidance on how to avoid exposure to rodents and clean up areas with rodent droppings.