The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has classified the hantavirus outbreak as a ‘level 3’ emergency response, the lowest level of emergency activation.
The move signifies that the risk to the general public remains low, and the situation is being actively monitored by the public health agency.
Activating the Emergency Operation Centers indicates that an emergency team has been set up to support a response.
According US News, Global health authorities are working to contain an outbreak of hantavirus aboard the MV Hondius cruise ship.
The outbreak, involving the Andes strain of hantavirus, has so far resulted in five confirmed cases, three suspected infections, and three deaths among passengers connected to the voyage, according to World Health Organization officials.
The MV Hondius, carrying approximately 150 passengers and crew from 23 nationalities, departed from Argentina and crossed the Atlantic before reporting a cluster of respiratory illnesses while sailing off Cape Verde.
Hantaviruses are a family of viruses spread primarily by rodents (rats and mice), causing severe respiratory (HPS) or renal (HFRS) illnesses in humans. Humans are infected by inhaling virus particles from rodent urine, droppings, or saliva, often while cleaning. Symptoms start as fever and muscle aches, progressing to severe pneumonia or kidney failure, with mortality rates up to 50%.