Two Texans are being monitored. Dozens more across at least five U.S. states are under watch. And yes, Trump has been briefed.
NEW: President Trump says he's been briefed on Hantavirus.
"It's very much, we hope, under control."
"I think we're going to make a full report about it tomorrow. We have a lot of people — a lot of great people are studying it. It should be fine, we hope." pic.twitter.com/nelc7QOIlz
Health officials across at least five U.S. states are quietly — but urgently — monitoring people connected to a Hantavirus outbreak traced to a cruise ship in the Atlantic. It’s not a pandemic. It’s not COVID-2. But it is the kind of situation that public health agencies take very seriously, and right now they’re racing to get ahead of it.
“It’s very much, we hope, under control. I think we’re going to make a full report about it tomorrow.”— President Donald Trump, Thursday
Trump confirmed Thursday he’d been briefed on the situation, adding that “a lot of great people” are studying it. His administration has promised a fuller update soon. Meanwhile, on the ship itself, 146 passengers from 23 different countries are still on board. They’re expected to arrive at Spain’s Canary Islands this weekend, at which point they’ll be flown home.
Among the passengers who already disembarked: two Texans. State health officials say both left before doctors identified the outbreak, have shown no symptoms, and had no known contact with anyone who got sick. They’ve agreed to take their temperature daily and report any changes — a standard monitoring protocol that’s less dramatic than it sounds, but important nonetheless.
WHAT WE KNOW SO FAR
Outbreak linked to a rare strain of Hantavirus capable of limited human-to-human spread
146 people from 23 countries remain on board; arrival in Canary Islands expected this weekend
Several people monitored across at least 5 U.S. states
WHO says no evidence of widespread transmission risk
Here’s the part that will probably make you nervous: Hantavirus normally spreads through contact with infected rodents — their droppings, urine, or saliva. Human-to-human transmission is rare. But this particular strain, the one linked to this outbreak, is one of the exceptions. In some cases, it can pass from person to person. That’s what has health authorities paying extra close attention.
The World Health Organization has tried to temper any spiraling comparisons to COVID-19. “This is not the start of a COVID pandemic. This is not the same situation we were in six years ago,” WHO officials stressed, noting the virus doesn’t spread the same way. They say there’s no evidence of widespread transmission risk. For now, public health officials say the key is staying in close contact with exposed travelers — wrapping what one official called “the public health apparatus” around them early and often.
It’s the kind of controlled, watchful response that rarely makes headlines when it works. Let’s hope this is one of those times.
