Dr. Sohaib Imtiaz, Chief Medical Officer at People Inc., says that the hantavirus outbreak is not similar to Covid
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Key Takeaways
- 16 passengers are quarantined in Nebraska while, 2 are under observation at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta
- The Andes strain of hantavirus spreads through close human contact unlike the airborne transmission of COVID-19
- Experts say the risk of a widespread outbreak remains low despite public fears of another pandemic
On Monday, May 11, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) announced that 18 American passengers who were on the MV Hondius cruise ship at the center of the hantavirus outbreak have returned to the country.
Health officials said 16 of the passengers were taken into quarantine at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha and two were sent to Emory University Hospital in Atlanta.
With growing concerns among the public about the possibility of another pandemic emerging, Dr. Sohaib Imtiaz — Chief Medical Officer at People Inc. — says, “The big question is how long to keep them there.”
“Do we get them to self-quarantine? Can we trust enough or do we just keep them in this facility and just close out the virus now?” Imtiaz tells PEOPLE. “This isn't spreading as fast or quickly. It's been more than a week already and we haven't seen cases explode that we saw with COVID. So, I understand from a public standpoint why it's worrying because people cite some of the mistakes that were made during COVID. But realistically, the risk remains very low at the moment.”
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Imtiaz says that the incubation period for the hantavirus — the time between exposure and the first appearance of symptoms — is typically up to a month. According to the World Health Organization, in some cases, symptoms can take up to eight weeks to appear.
Hantavirus is an infectious disease that's normally spread through contact with rodents. The virus is typically transmitted to humans when they are bitten or come into contact with the urine, droppings and saliva of an infected rodent.
However, with the Andes strain, which has caused the current outbreak, transmission occurs human-to-human following close and prolonged contact during the early phase of the illness, when the virus is more transmissible, according to WHO.
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Imtiaz tells PEOPLE that the news about the Andes strain “scared a lot of people and created fear.” However, he assures that the transmission of the hantavirus is very different because it's not airborne like the flu or COVID-19.
“COVID is airborne transmission, which means that it can stay on surfaces. If you cough, it spreads to a lot of people. So then you have this network effect where it spreads very quickly like we saw back in 2020,” he explains. “Hantavirus, you need prolonged exposure with someone or you need close contact like kissing someone. Very close intimate contact type of relationship stuff. So that's why this is less risky.”
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has since activated its 24/7 emergency center to monitor the hantavirus. Officials say the center is operating on a Level 3 response, the lowest level.
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