Hantavirus: Facts Not Fear | Here's what you need to know

Added: 2026-05-13

[00:00:00]18 American crew passengers are back in the US tonight and they're being monitored after possible exposure to the Hantavirus. One of them has tested positive and is now under quarantine.

[00:00:10]>> It comes as many express concerns over the virus possibly spreading. Senior health correspondent Monica Robins separates fact from fiction this evening.

[00:00:19]This virus is not new and no, this is not another pandemic. There's a lot of medical experience with this virus even though this situation is different. And this situation is different because it is a more of a global outbreak because it's the first time this has happened on a cruise ship. And that changes, right, the awareness of the entire globe to an infection. This is not another COVID. It will not be any pandemic.

[00:00:45]But still we can learn from this and continue to to build our our response.

[00:00:51]This virus is difficult to spread.

[00:00:54]>> And this Hantavirus, the Andes virus, is one of is the only strain that is person-to-person. But again, very difficult to spread. Is close contact with bodily secretions or respiration, sharing things intimately, toothbrush, etc. Exposure on a cruise ship is unique and explains close contact.

[00:01:15]That all of the sequences are almost identical, that there are barely few differences in two cases, one one on each, and that that means it's a strongly on support of a single source of the of infection. The second point would be that there is prima facie there is nothing different about the about this strain compared with others.

[00:01:43]>> The US is no longer part of the World Health Organization. When it comes to this Hantavirus Andes outbreak, there is no danger to the general public. When it comes to the dismantling of the CDC with firing thousands of staff, we still have a part-time director at CDC. Most of the unit directors are acting or part-time or vacant.

[00:02:08]We are much less safe. We can't have a safe USA with a weak CDC. There's a reason the Americans are in Nebraska and at Emory University. We here in the National Quarantine Unit and the Biocontainment Unit are absolutely prepared to monitor these individuals for that entire quarantine period. Um should our federal partners and the individuals being monitored choose to do so.

[00:02:31]>> We can say very securely that our system worked, our preparedness worked, and most importantly, my teammates performed very, very well. More cases are expected before this is over. The incubation for Hantavirus or Andes virus range 6 to 8 8 weeks.

[00:02:52]So, we expect that more cases to to to come, actually, but I hope they will be as small as possible. Monica Robins, 3 News.