Doctor shares what Coloradans should know about hantavirus

Hinzugefügt: 2026-05-19

[00:00:00]This morning, global health officials say that they've confirmed 11 total cases of HANA virus. Officials warned that number could go up because of the virus 42 incubation period. As of this morning, one couple is being monitored at Georgia Hospital. 15 others are at the University of Nebraska Medical Center and then one other is being held at a specialized bioontainment unit also in Nebraska. The World Health Organization and CDC have said that a situation like this is not like the CO 19 pandemic. And some people are still stressed about what this outbreak could really mean for them.

[00:00:32]>> And 9 News medical expert Dr. Coley joining us this morning to talk more about this. So Dr. Coley, it seems like this is a problem that's out there in the distance. Right. It's not affecting us here in Colorado, at least not yet.

[00:00:42]But what should people here be concerned about or be aware of when it comes to this?

[00:00:46]>> I think you're exactly right, Drew. At this point, we have not much to worry about. The risk to the general average Colorado person is quite low. Now, keep in mind there's two types of haunt virus. One is this Andes virus which spreads person to person. That's what's out in Georgia. That's what was on the ship. What we already have in Colorado is a SNB sin nombre virus which is only rodents to people. So, the average Colorado is more likely to catch onto virus from mouse droppings if they're cleaning out an old cabin or something after the winter than they are right now to catch the Andes virus.

[00:01:18]>> Okay. When it comes to a cruise ship and doctors on a cruise ship, how do they figure out that initial patient? How do they recognize what they need to do?

[00:01:26]>> Oh, this is so hard. And actually, the doctor on the cruise ship is an oncologist. He's a cancer specialist, not infectious disease. Okay. Who happened to be taking that cruise? But essentially, if somebody on a cruise ship gets sick, and you can imagine it's more likely that you are going to get sick because there's a high density of people. You're sharing common surfaces.

[00:01:42]Yeah. They thought it was actually just a flu-l like illness. So that first patient zero that happened, they didn't suspect haunt virus because it's quite rare.

[00:01:50]>> In fact, he ended up dying without ever even getting a PCR test. When his wife got sick, that's when they started looking. So they actually identified patient zero, the first patient to get it after his death, when his wife got sick, and then they said, "Oh, there must be something infectious going on."

[00:02:05]So they cast a wide net. They looked for COVID. They look for flu. They look for RSV. These are the more common things that come up on cruise ships. Haunt virus, as you can imagine, quite rare.

[00:02:14]>> Yeah. Once it is established, once you have those first few patients, how are they treated? Where are they housed? How are people looking after them?

[00:02:21]>> It's really difficult with this particular infection because what can happen is it can very quickly within hours progress from just a flu-l like illness to getting into your lungs causing essentially your lungs to fill up with fluid and make it so you need an intensive care unit, a ventilator, a blood pressure support, you're going to shock essentially. So for those first patients, that poor gentleman, the Dutch couple who contracted it, he passed away. His wife was actually taking his body back home to the Netherlands when they told her she can't board the plane in Johannesburg because she looked so ill and then she collapsed and passed away soon after. But now that they've identified what they're dealing with because of the PCR test, identified the Haunt virus, they're catching people much earlier in their course.

[00:03:05]Unfortunately, we don't have a lot of treatments for haunt virus, but at least they're able to monitor and quarantine them earlier, which can contain the spread.

[00:03:12]>> Dr. Coley, for everyone who works on the ship, ship crews, what do they have to do to make sure that this doesn't start to spread because like you said, you're in a tight space. You're sharing a lot of things when you're on a cruise ship.

[00:03:24]>> Yeah. So, I mean, this is really difficult, but it spreads even from things like shared utensils. So, if the kitchen crew, for example, doesn't clean spoons and forks and knives and such carefully, you can even catch it from that. But obviously the highest risk is from close contact such as sexual contact, sharing a bed, kissing or sharing the same kind of bathroom surfaces. But with haunt virus, what we've learned is that there are these super spreader events. And what's interesting is a few people spread it very well and the majority of people don't spread it. And these super spreader events we we learned from this outbreak in Argentina a few years ago and this virus is very similar to that one in its behavior. Someone could be walking past you and you could spread it. It was a party that an individual went to a birthday party. He was infected and he ended up infecting five others, some who he didn't have close contact with. So, it's going to be a real challenge for the people on the ship.

[00:04:12]>> Uh, we're out of regulation time, but we have an overtime question for you this morning. Can you handle an overtime question?

[00:04:17]>> I think I can. It's important enough.

[00:04:18]>> Do you have an opinion on cruises in general? Because some people hear this and go, "No, that's it. I'm I'm done with cruising."

[00:04:23]>> I feel like everything starts on a cruise ship, right? Should we avoid it?

[00:04:26]>> So, for the average person, it's not it's something you have to avoid. It's a reasonable vacation. But I will say the risk of getting an infectious disease most likely GI illness, neuroirus is the most common but even covid respiratory infection such much much higher in a cruise ship. Now factors that predict it cruises that are large longer than seven days. And those mega cruise ships actually ironically enough the bigger the cruise ship the more likely because harder it is to sanitize essentially and so if you're elderly over 75 imuno compromised have cancer or transplant don't go on the cruise. But for the average American, if you get vaccinated, you make sure to do that hand hygiene.

[00:05:02]It's it's probably reasonable knowing that you're a little higher risk for something infectious.

[00:05:06]>> Yeah.

[00:05:06]>> And finally, if we are going to go on a cruise, where do you recommend we go, Dr. >> Travels everywhere, right?

[00:05:11]>> We are out of overtime.

[00:05:12]>> 14 days. I said, Drew, remember, >> which a lot of people retire and I feel like they do take those long cruise ships. Two months, three months. That's way too long.

[00:05:19]>> Yes. Yeah.

[00:05:20]>> Thank you so much, Dr. Coley. Great information this morning.