Is there a treatment for hantavirus?

(NEXSTAR) – Health officials in numerous countries are working to contain the spread of illnesses linked to a hantavirus outbreak traced back to a now-deceased passenger on the MV Hondius cruise ship last month.

The cruise, which departed from Argentina, was carrying 147 passengers and crew members, from countries in the Americas, Europe and Asia. The World Health Organization on Friday had reported eight confirmed cases of hantavirus among those on the ship. Three passengers have also died.

Dozens of other passengers had also left the ship before the severity of the situation became apparent and the MV Hondius was isolated. Some of those passengers had also returned home, including residents of Arizona, California, Georgia, Texas and Virginia, NewsNation reported.

“We certainly have been tracking this very closely,” Dr. Cameron Webb, the commissioner of the Virginia Department of Health, told CNN of a male MV Hondius passenger who returned home to Virginia this week.

“That individual at this time is not showing any symptoms, and we are continuing to stay in pretty constant contact with him.”

Hantaviruses are among a group of viruses that generally affect rodents, but can be transmitted to humans through contact with their droppings, urine or saliva, or inhaling droplets from contaminated air, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control and........

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