WHO shares update on global hantavirus cases

A total of 10 cases of hantavirus have been reported to the World Health Organization in connection with the deadly outbreak that killed three passengers on the MV Hondius cruise ship, the organization's director-general shared in an update Friday.

“As of today, a total of 10 cases, including three deaths, have been reported to WHO, including eight people who were laboratory confirmed for Andes virus infection and two probable," WHO's Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a press conference on May 15.

Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, director of the WHO's Department of Epidemic and Pandemic Management, explained this new total, down from an earlier reported 11 cases, is due to new information on an American who had a previously inconclusive test.

"Since then, we've had further confirmation from the United States that that person was negative, so we've changed the case count from 11 to 10," she said.

Who is being monitored in the U.S. for hantavirus?

In the United States, a total of 41 people are under monitoring for hantavirus, officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said during a May 14 briefing.

The 41 people come from three main groups, Dr. David Fitter, incident manager for CDC’s hantavirus response, said in the briefing:

• 18 passengers who were recently repatriated to health facilities in Nebraska and Georgia
• 7 passengers who had left the ship returned home before the outbreak was identified
• People who may have been exposed during travel on flights where a symptomatic case was present (16 people).

The group of 18 citizens, which includes one British dual national, disembarked the ship at Tenerife, Spain, on May 10, before returning stateside. Most went to the University of Nebraska Medical Center, while two passengers were taken to a biocontainment unit at Emory University in Atlanta.

In a press call on May 15, Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, the National Institutes of Health's director and acting director of the CDC, said Health and Human Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the White House are getting daily, detailed updates on hantavirus.

"They are both following this outbreak very closely," he added.

He also assured that the CDC is confident they're monitoring everyone who may have been exposed.

"We’ve been working very closely with our international partners, and we are very confident that we know who was at risk and who was at much less risk," Bhattacharya said. He didn't delve into further details, as questions linger about the virus' spread.

Why aren't quarantines being mandated?

Though the CDC recommends people do not travel during the 42-day monitoring period, Fitter addressed why the department is "not using our federal quarantining authority on people" to mandate quarantines.

"Our approach is based on risk and evidence. We are working closely with passengers and public health partners to ensure monitoring and rapid access to care if symptoms develop," he said.

There are currently no positive hantavirus cases in the United States tied to the outbreak.