Hantavirus risk to US public very low: CDC

Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, the acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said Wednesday that the risk of hantavirus to the American public is “very low” amid an outbreak of the disease on a cruise ship headed to Europe.

Three people, a Dutch couple and a German national, on board the M/V Hondius ship have already died from suspected hantavirus infection, while the World Health Organization (WHO) said early Wednesday morning that it evacuated three people suspected of having the disease.

Three out of the eight cases of those on board the ship have been confirmed through lab tests as of Wednesday, according to the WHO.

“Our hearts go out to the passengers aboard the cruise ship M/V Hondius and their families during this difficult time,” Bhattacharya, who is also the director of the National Institutes of Health, said in a statement. 

“Our CDC team began coordinating with domestic and international partners as soon as we were notified of a hantavirus situation,” he wrote.

“Hantavirus is not spread by people without symptoms,........

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