NY health commissioner talks risks of hantavirus

Added: 2026-05-14

[00:00:00]Governor Kathy Hochul says New York is working on a Hantavirus response plan as three people with ties to the state are being monitored this morning in Nebraska.

[00:00:09]>> three passengers who were aboard a cruise where a deadly outbreak occurred are currently under quarantine. State Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald getting regular updates from the CDC. He is joining us this morning with the very latest. So, Commissioner McDonald, thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to talk to us. Good to see you.

[00:00:25]Uh good to see you again, too. Good morning. All right. So, a lot of people are talking about this. It is everywhere on social media. What was the last update that you received, Commissioner, from the CDC and how often are you really in contact with them about this?

[00:00:36]Yeah, we talked again last night. You know, so I know the three people who are from New York are healthy and you know, right now in Nebraska, which is really the safest place for them right now.

[00:00:46]Really, one of the things we're talking about is just what's going on in the United States and how does it affect all the different states in particular.

[00:00:53]Obviously, my main concern is protecting those three New Yorkers, uh but also all of New York State. And right now, it's great that these folks are in Nebraska, safe and sound. But some of not all of them are there, right? There's like from our last count, there were 18 that were diagnosed, um but not all of them are in Nebraska. So, why are some staying and why are some allowed to leave?

[00:01:14]So, no one's really left yet. So, let's keep a little bit of perspective on this, right? There are 18 Americans that we know about. The two that went to Emory, they were a couple. One was symptomatic. I learned last night that person tested negative. The other person went cuz they were just the partner for moral support. So, they're there right now. But really, when you think about it right now, all 18 individuals are still being monitored very closely. That's important because if they do get ill, you want them right near expert health care. Okay, so to be clear on that to on that issue, are there people quarantining right now in New York State?

[00:01:49]No. There's no one in New York State right now that's quarantined in New York State. All three that we know about are in Nebraska. We talked to them yesterday um and they understand what our recommendations are and we're going to be in regular contact with them to answer any questions they might have.

[00:02:04]>> Yeah, and people are comparing this a lot to coronavirus, right? And how it spread, how it's transmitted, the incubation period, why you have to quarantine for so long. Can you talk about just the quarantine aspect of it all? We have those three Americans like you've been mentioning. Jake Rosemarin, by the way, is now on social media documenting his experience in quarantine. How long does somebody have to stay away from everybody else?

[00:02:25]Yeah, I I think quarantine, when you think about quarantine, you quarantine people who are exposed. People who are on the cruise ship are high risk cuz cruise ships are really just a concentrated petri dish, right? So, they have to quarantine for 42 days. That's cuz the incubation period. An incubation period's when am I exposed and when could I see symptoms? And so, really that's the problem is that you could see symptoms up to 42 days, 6 weeks from when you were exposed and that's why the quarantine is so long. Okay, so then is contact tracing being used to determine who who may have come in contact with those folks since they landed in the states?

[00:03:00]Yeah, so keep in mind, when the people landed in the states, they really haven't come in contact with anybody.

[00:03:06]They came in personal protective equipment and then they were landed at Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska and they went right to the quarantine unit.

[00:03:13]And they're not interacting with each other. So, keep in mind, they're all in individual hotel rooms. Yeah, you know, Commissioner, this is something that is very interesting here about how it is spread. I'm seeing a lot of talk on social media and chatter. So, I'm trying to get the information from the disinformation for folks out there on whether or not this is spread person-to-person or really if you have to come in kind of contact with a rodent, right? Can you explain the process or what you know right now about how this is spread? Yes. So, the way it's normally spread is it's spread by contact with a rodent, a rodent that isn't in the United States. However, this particular hantavirus, keep in mind, there's over two dozen types of hantavirus. This one is spread person to person, but not very effectively. Household contacts are what you've seen mostly in Argentina and Chile, where this is more common. But it does spread person to person. The risk though, if you look at this, you know, the risk isn't very high, um but it's there, you know, and that's why person to person spread is something that if you look at what's happened right now, everything's been done to protect everybody from spreading it to each other. Yeah, I mean, so you say that the risk is low, but it's still very dangerous, correct? And And the state The state >> working on a response plan though in the event that it's discovered here. So, can you tell us what that looks like?

[00:04:25]Yeah, so if there we have a plan in place and here's what happens if someone is coming back to New York who is a high-risk contact, it'll be non-commercial transport, then they'll be transported safely to where they're going to quarantine if that is something that will occur. We also have identified all the hospitals in New York State that can handle a patient like this.

[00:04:44]And then we can really, you know, there isn't a specific treatment and this really underscores your earlier point.

[00:04:49]The mortality rate, even in the United States, is going to be significant, somewhere between probably 20 to 40%, you know, and I think this is really why it's important to remember the most important thing is prevent this. This is why that quarantine period in Nebraska, although inconvenient and unfortunate for those travelers, really important.

[00:05:06]>> Yeah, and you're tampering down the the threat level here, but you are saying prepared, meaning your hospitals and so on and so forth. But just on the person to person contact, so people are clear.

[00:05:16]People are saying, "Well, if you're on the subway and someone coughs with coronavirus, you were able to catch it pretty quickly." Is it prolonged exposure to a person to person contact?

[00:05:25]Or how does it spread person to person?

[00:05:27]Yeah, it's spread person to person through prolonged close personal contact. Keep in mind, this is not a new disease to the world. It's a new disease to our country, but it's been in Argentina for quite some time. And so when we talk to people from Argentina, and there's good data on that part, you keep that in mind there. However, keep in mind, a cruise ship is a different experience all together. They're so close together. Yeah, they're isolated together. All right.

[00:05:51]>> Well, you're all together on a cruise ship. Yeah. All right, New York State uh Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald.

[00:05:56]Thanks again for all your help this morning. Really important information that our city needs to know. We appreciate your time. My pleasure. Have a great day. You, too.

[00:06:04]We'll be right back, everybody.