Two people who shared a flight with an infected passenger from the hantavirus cruise ship are being monitored for symptoms, it has emerged.
Monitoring Underway
The Maryland Department of Health confirmed that both passengers flew on the same plane as a passenger of the MV Hondius, a cruise ship at the centre of an outbreak of the rat-borne disease that has left three people dead. The infected individual was unaware of their status at the time of travel.
Health officials in the US state stressed that the risk of local residents contracting the disease remains low, and that hantavirus-based diseases do not commonly spread between people. Maryland has not recorded a hantavirus case since 2019.
Official Statement
A statement from the Maryland Department of Health said: "The Maryland Department of Health is monitoring two Maryland residents who were on a flight that briefly included a M/V Hondius cruise ship passenger infected with hantavirus. Health authorities are taking these steps out of an abundance of caution. At this time, the risk to the public in Maryland remains very low."
The statement added: "The two Maryland residents with potential exposures were not passengers on the cruise ship. The potential exposure occurred during air travel abroad. The Maryland Department of Health will not release additional information about the Maryland residents to protect their privacy."
Virus Details
Hantaviruses are a family of viruses carried by rodents, and cases are known to occur in the United States. Although most diseases stemming from hantavirus are not known to spread between people, the disease associated with MV Hondius passengers is the Andes virus found in South America. It is the only known hantavirus capable of person-to-person transmission, though such transmission is rare and generally requires close, prolonged contact with an infected individual or their bodily fluids. The incubation period ranges from four to 42 days, and asymptomatic persons are not considered infectious.
No hantavirus cases have been identified in Maryland since 2019. Andes virus infections have never been reported in Maryland. The Maryland Department of Health is coordinating closely across all levels of government, as well as with leading experts and medical facilities that have Regional Emerging Special Pathogen Treatment Centres.
Broader Outbreak
A Spanish passenger evacuated from the cruise ship at the centre of a hantavirus outbreak has tested positive for the virus, officials in the country confirmed this morning. The World Health Organisation said it has now confirmed 11 cases, including three people from the cruise who died. All passengers and most of the crew have now been evacuated from the MV Hondius, which is now sailing back to the Netherlands to be cleaned and disinfected.
