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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notified Texas that two residents had been onboard the cruise ship that experienced a hantavirus outbreak. State health officials said the residents are not experiencing symptoms and have \u201cagreed to monitor themselves.\u201d (Misper Apawu | AP)<\/p>\n
Two Texas residents were aboard a cruise ship that reported an outbreak of hantavirus \u2014 an infection that can rapidly progress and become life-threatening.<\/p>\n
Texas health officials said Thursday the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notified the state about the Texas passengers on the MV Hondius. The Texas Department of State Health Services, or DSHS, said the passengers had left the ship and returned to the U.S. before the outbreak was identified.<\/p>\n
Hantavirus is a \u201crare but severe disease that can be deadly,\u201d according to WHO. It is typically spread when people have contact with wild rodent urine, droppings and saliva. However, DSHS said in a statement the strain in this outbreak, the Andes virus, can spread from person-to-person \u201cin limited circumstances.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt typically requires close, prolonged contact with a person who is actively sick with the disease,\u201d the agency said. \u201cIt is not known to spread through casual contact such as shaking hands or being in the same room for a few minutes. There have been no documented cases where a person without symptoms spread it to someone else.\u201d<\/p>\n
DSHS said public health officials in Texas have reached the two individuals, who report they are not experiencing any symptoms and weren\u2019t in contact with anyone who was sick while on the ship.<\/p>\n
The state said it will not release additional personal details about the passengers due to privacy concerns. KERA reached out to DSHS to see where in Texas the passengers are but did not immediately receive comment.<\/p>\n
The agency said the individuals agreed to \u201cmonitor themselves for symptoms with daily temperature checks\u201d and reach out to public health officials at any sign of a possible illness.<\/p>\n
As of May 4, the World Health Organization, or WHO<\/a>, said seven cases have been identified \u2013 two confirmed with lab testing and five suspected \u2013 including three deaths, one critically ill patient and three patients reporting \u201cmild symptoms.\u201d<\/p>\n WHO noted the initial appearance of symptoms was characterized by \u201cfever, gastrointestinal symptoms, rapid progression to pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome and shock.\u201d The organization also said investigations are ongoing.<\/p>\n Abigail Ruhman is KERA\u2019s health reporter. Got a tip? Email Abigail at aruhman@kera.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n