Hantavirus outbreak on cruise ship prompts health experts to urge calm

追加: 2026-05-16

[00:00:00]Well, health care professionals working to reassure the public is after an outbreak of hantavirus on a cruise ship.

[00:00:06]Experts say that that virus should be taken seriously, but not feared. Wait 31 Karina Sheddon joins us now live in studio after speaking with health officials, as well as infectious disease specialists about what people here in Alabama need to know. Karina.

[00:00:22]Health experts say this virus is very different from what many experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic, and they want people to understand the risk to the general public remains low.

[00:00:34]The outbreak involves the Andes strain of hantavirus, a rare virus found in South America. Doctors say this strain is unique. Now, the Andes virus is also in that family of hantavirus viruses, and it matters here because it's the only one that we've ever been able to identify as human-to-human spread. But, experts emphasize this is not showing the kind of widespread community transmission seen during the COVID-19 pandemic.

[00:01:00]>> We don't want to trivialize it, but we also don't want to catastrophize it.

[00:01:03]This is not a pandemic setting where we have a high transmission rate person-to-person. Researchers say there's no growing pandemic threat.

[00:01:13]Healthcare workers are now focused on monitoring people who had direct exposure, while labs use specialized testing to track the virus. We have no evidence of sustained community transmission outside of close contact settings, no evidence of efficient airborne spread in public spaces, and no recommendation for general travel restrictions. Meanwhile, doctors at UAB say people in Alabama should stay informed, but not panic. People who live in Alabama should not be too concerned.

[00:01:43]I think it's helpful to understand what is going on globally and how our public health officials are tracking these things, but the absolute risk to Alabamians is fairly low.

[00:01:56]Health officials also stress testing is only recommended for people with clear exposure risks. They also emphasize that because this virus has been studied for decades, health officials are not starting from scratch. Reporting live in studio, I'm Karina Shedoan, 31 News.