Health officials urged the public to remain calm after hantavirus cases on a cruise ship raised concern among passengers and the wider public.
Officials said the situation is not comparable to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic because hantavirus has a well-understood transmission pattern.
Unlike COVID-19, hantavirus is mainly linked to exposure to rodent droppings, urine or saliva. Human-to-human transmission is not typical unless body fluids are involved.
That transmission pattern limits the virus’s ability to spread widely between people.
The disease is still considered serious because hantavirus can cause severe pulmonary or kidney failure after initial flu-like symptoms.
The mortality rate can reach 40% to 50%. Contact tracing is underway, and passengers have been quarantined while health experts identify possible exposure. Officials are also negotiating where the cruise ship can dock.
Public health officials said quarantine, sanitation and rodent-control measures are already being used to contain the outbreak.
They said broader COVID-style measures such as wide-scale lockdowns, mask mandates and vaccine development are not considered necessary for this situation. Scientists described the incident as a serious outbreak, not a pandemic.
