A luxury cruise ship hit by a hantavirus outbreak is headed to Spain’s Canary Islands after spending five days stranded off the coast of Cape Verde.Three passengers have died, and growing concerns about the virus have prompted global health alerts. The Alabama Department of Public Health said it has not been notified of any hantavirus cases involving Alabamians, and there are currently no confirmed cases in the United States.“I think the important thing to note with the hantavirus outbreak that’s occurred on this cruise ship is that it’s a very limited incident,” said Wesley Willeford, deputy health officer with the Jefferson County Department of Health.Willeford said he does not believe the outbreak will become widespread.“I want to say emphatically that I do not think this is going to be the next COVID-19 pandemic by any stretch of the imagination,” he said.A local pharmacist told WVTM 13 off-camera that he has seen an increase in people getting flu shots to protect themselves, even though the vaccine does not protect against hantavirus.Willeford said hantavirus is primarily spread through human contact with rodents, and families should not let the recent cruise ship incident affect their summer plans.“I really don’t think people have to have anything to worry about over the summer, especially traveling, even in cruises,” Willeford said. “I think this is quite a rare situation that kind of came to happen.”Experts encourage travelers to social distance and be mindful of animals while traveling to help prevent the spread of illness.
A luxury cruise ship hit by a hantavirus outbreak is headed to Spain’s Canary Islands after spending five days stranded off the coast of Cape Verde.
Three passengers have died, and growing concerns about the virus have prompted global health alerts. The Alabama Department of Public Health said it has not been notified of any hantavirus cases involving Alabamians, and there are currently no confirmed cases in the United States.
“I think the important thing to note with the hantavirus outbreak that’s occurred on this cruise ship is that it’s a very limited incident,” said Wesley Willeford, deputy health officer with the Jefferson County Department of Health.
Willeford said he does not believe the outbreak will become widespread.
“I want to say emphatically that I do not think this is going to be the next COVID-19 pandemic by any stretch of the imagination,” he said.
A local pharmacist told WVTM 13 off-camera that he has seen an increase in people getting flu shots to protect themselves, even though the vaccine does not protect against hantavirus.
Willeford said hantavirus is primarily spread through human contact with rodents, and families should not let the recent cruise ship incident affect their summer plans.
“I really don’t think people have to have anything to worry about over the summer, especially traveling, even in cruises,” Willeford said. “I think this is quite a rare situation that kind of came to happen.”
Experts encourage travelers to social distance and be mindful of animals while traveling to help prevent the spread of illness.