6 Washington residents monitored after rare hantavirus exposure
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The public is at low risk for hantavirus exposure even though six state residents are being monitored after last month's outbreak on a cruise ship.
The big picture: The Andes strain is the only known type of hantavirus that spreads person-to-person.
- Transmission is rare and typically requires prolonged close contact. But infections are serious, with a fatality rate of up to 50% in the Americas, according to the World Health Organization.
The latest: All six residents — including four from King County — were asymptomatic as of Monday, per the Washington Department of Health (DOH). Health officials say symptoms can take up to six weeks to appear after exposure.
Catch up quick: The outbreak is tied to the Dutch cruise ship MV Hondius, which departed Argentina last month and arrived at Spain's Canary Islands after passengers began falling ill.
- At least three European passengers died and multiple others were infected with the Andes strain, according to international health officials.
- Some passengers later boarded commercial flights home before the outbreak had been identified or reported, said Sharon Bogan with Public Health – Seattle & King County.
Zoom in: One King County resident who was on the ship is being monitored at the national quarantine center in Nebraska, a process that'll last roughly 42 days from disembarkment.
- Three others were on a Johannesburg-to-Amsterdam flight carrying an ill ship passenger who was removed before takeoff, according to Bogan. They're expected to be monitored through June 6.
- The two other residents under monitoring live in Eastern Washington.
Reality check: You might've seen reports about a hantavirus case in Chelan County. That's unrelated to the cruise ship. The resident has a different strain and is not being monitored because the strain is not spread person-to-person.
Zoom out: The CDC is monitoring 41 people across the U.S. for possible Andes strain exposure from the cruise ship.
What's next: WHO officials are urging cross-border collaboration to trace and contain the spread. They warn that with the virus's weeks-long incubation period, more cases are possible.