May 6 (Reuters) – The United States is closely monitoring the situation with U.S. travelers on board the luxury cruise ship that was hit by a hantavirus outbreak, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Wednesday.
Three people – a Dutch couple and a German national – have died in the outbreak on the MV Hondius. Eight people, including a Swiss citizen, are suspected to have contracted the virus, according to the World Health Organization.
Hantavirus usually spreads through contact with infected rodents and human-to-human transmission is uncommon.
“The Department of State is leading a coordinated, whole-of-government response including direct contact with passengers, diplomatic coordination, and engagement with domestic and international health authorities,” the CDC said in a statement.
The risk to the American public is extremely low at this time, the CDC added.
People in at least three U.S. states were being monitored for potential hantavirus infections after the outbreak on the MV Hondius, though none had shown signs of illness, the New York Times reported earlier on Wednesday.
Georgia is monitoring two residents, while California is monitoring an undisclosed number of residents who had also been on the ship, the newspaper said.
In an emailed statement to Reuters, the Georgia Department of Public Health said it was monitoring two residents who had returned home after disembarking from the cruise ship. Both individuals were currently in good health, showed no signs of infection, and were following current recommendations from the CDC, it added.
The Arizona Department of Health Services said in a separate emailed statement it was monitoring one resident who was a passenger on the ship and that the individual was not symptomatic.
The California Department of Public Health did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
(Reporting by Chandni Shah in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Ananya Palyekar, Mrinmay Dey and Rhea Rose Abraham; Editing by Kim Coghill and Kate Mayberry)
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