Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
More States, Countries On Alert For Hantavirus; WHO Tells People To Remain Calm: 'This Is Not Covid'
CBS News: 5 U.S. States Monitoring Passengers Who Departed Cruise Ship Stricken By Hantavirus
At least 12 countries are currently monitoring people who had disembarked the MV Hondius before cases of hantavirus were confirmed, the World Health Organization said at a press conference Thursday. Those countries are Canada, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States. Five U.S. states have said they are monitoring passengers who debarked the Hondius prior to any cases being confirmed on board for signs of the rare and often deadly disease: two each from Georgia and Texas, one from Virginia, one from Arizona, and an unspecified number from California, according to their respective state health departments. Each state has said none of the individuals is exhibiting any signs of the illness. (Osborne, 5/7)
USA Today: Another Suspected Hantavirus Case Found On Remote Island
A suspected new case of hantavirus was identified by authorities Friday as a British national on a remote island where the MV Hondius made a stop in April. The UK Health Security Agent said in an update on Friday that the person with the suspected case was on Tristan da Cunha, often considered "the most remote inhabited island in the world" in the South Atlantic Ocean halfway between the tips of South America and Africa. No further details about the case were made public. (Santucci and Moniuszko, 5/8)
Bloomberg: Hantavirus Cruise Outbreak Prompts Singapore To Test Two Travelers
Singapore has isolated two residents who were onboard a cruise ship linked to a deadly outbreak of hantavirus. Both men, aged 67 and 65, had been onboard the MV Hondius when it departed Argentina on April 1, the Communicable Diseases Agency said in a statement Thursday. ... If they test negative for hantavirus, they will be quarantined for 30 days from the date of last exposure. If tested positive, they will remain hospitalized for monitoring and treatment given the potential severity of infection, CDA said. (Gemmell, 5/7)
The Hill: WHO Official Says Hantavirus Is 'Not COVID'
A World Health Organization (WHO) official on Thursday said the threat level imposed by hantavirus, which has killed three people aboard a cruise ship, does not resemble the pandemic-level threat that COVID-19 had six years ago. Infectious disease epidemiologist Maria DeJoseph Van Kerkhove said during a press conference that the three hantavirus deaths of a Dutch couple and a German citizen, along with the evacuation of three people suspected of carrying the virus, are not a cause for panic. “This is not COVID, this is not influenza,” she said. “It spreads very, very differently. So, there are different precautions that people are taking.” (Mancini, 5/7)
CNN: This American Doctor Thought He Was Going On Vacation. He Ended Up Treating Hantavirus Patients On The Infected Ship
Dr. Stephen Kornfeld boarded the MV Hondius in the southern tip of Argentina last month anticipating a once-in-a-lifetime adventure, exploring vast icy expanses and remote islands, seeing wildlife like whales, dolphins and penguins up close. But a few weeks into his vacation across the Atlantic Ocean, the Oregon doctor jumped into action caring for passengers after a deadly hantavirus outbreak began spreading through the ship, sickening the vessel’s doctor. (Harvey, 5/8)
Where the ship is headed —
ABC News: MV Hondius Expected To Arrive At Granadilla Port On Sunday By Noon
The MV Hondius is now expected to arrive at Granadilla Port on Sunday by 12 p.m. local time, but could be delayed depending on weather conditions, officials said. The ship will not dock upon arrival but will be anchored, and all passengers will be wearing hazmat gear as they are transferred by boat to the port, according to a statement from the Canarias Region government. (5/8)
AP: Spanish Authorities Prepare For Hantavirus Cruise Ship Arrival
Spanish authorities on Friday were preparing to receive more than 140 passengers and crew members on board a hantavirus-stricken cruise ship headed for the Canary Islands, where health officials have said they will perform careful evacuations. The vessel is expected to reach the Spanish island of Tenerife, off the coast of West Africa, on Saturday or Sunday. “They will arrive at a completely isolated, cordoned-off area,” said Virginia Barcones, Spain’s head of emergency services, on Thursday. (5/8)
On the U.S. response to the outbreak —
Stat: Top Official Retires From CDC Cruise Ship Program
The top U.S. official responsible for public health on cruise ships is stepping down, according to an internal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announcement obtained by STAT. (Payne, 5/7)
The Hill: Rising Outbreaks And Low Preparedness: US Health Report
Fewer than half of U.S. states are sufficiently prepared for a health emergency, according to research released Thursday. Only 20 states scored “high” on the annual report from Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) on national public health emergency preparedness. Seventeen states and Washington, D.C., scored in the “middle tier,” and 13 states fell into the “low tier.” The report comes as the U.S. is set to host 78 World Cup matches in 10 different states from June 11 to July 19. Five of those 10 states performed “high” in TFAH’s assessment, four in the “middle” range and one state — Texas — scored “low” on health emergency preparedness in the report. (Davis, 5/7)
The New York Times: Hantavirus Response Shows How Trump Cuts Have Compromised U.S. Preparedness
On April 24, nearly two weeks after the first person aboard a cruise ship died of hantavirus, 30 passengers, including six Americans, disembarked in St. Helena, a remote island in the Atlantic Ocean. The Americans are now back on U.S. soil, and three states are monitoring them; none have shown symptoms so far. That information came on Wednesday — not from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or from the State Department, which is coordinating the nation’s response to the hantavirus outbreak, but from the medical news publication MedPage Today. (The New York Times confirmed the report with state officials.) (Mandavilli, 5/7)
An unrelated hantavirus case is reported in Israel —
The Jerusalem Post: First Hantavirus Case Diagnosed In Israel After Trip To Eastern Europe
The first case of hantavirus has been diagnosed in Israel, Maariv reported Thursday. The patient is believed to have been infected during a stay in Eastern Europe several months ago and sought medical attention after developing symptoms associated with the disease. Unlike the outbreak of the South American Andes strain currently drawing international attention aboard the MV Hondius cruise ship, however, the Israeli patient was infected with a European strain of the virus. (Gal, 5/7)
