CDC issues advisory on hantavirus cluster linked to cruise ship

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a Health Alert Network Health Advisory May 8 notifying clinicians and health departments of the potential for imported cases of hantavirus disease, but said the risk of broad spread to the U.S. is currently extremely unlikely. The World Health Organization was notified May 2 of a cluster of severe cases on a cruise ship in the Atlantic Ocean later confirmed to be hantavirus. The WHO said the type of hantavirus causing the outbreak is the Andes virus, which can be spread from person to person. As of May 8, the WHO reported eight total cases, including six confirmed and two suspected, and three deaths. The CDC is assessing exposure risk among U.S. passengers who were aboard the cruise ship and determining appropriate monitoring measures. The agency is also working with international partners to align health guidance.