Hantavirus transmission limited among humans, medical researchers say
Research has shown the virus does not linger in the air, according to experts.
Health officials around the globe have taken major steps to prevent the spread of the hantavirus that spread throughout the MV Hondius.
In the U.S., the boat's 16 American passengers have been put in quarantine in Nebraska while more than 40 people are being monitored for potential symptoms.
While health experts acknowledged that the scenario has similarities to the beginning of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, they told ABC News that the current science behind the hantavirus does not show the same levels of transmission.
"In the vast majority of cases it happens when people breathe in mouse secretions," Dr. Emily Abdoler, a clinical associate professor of medicine at the University of Michigan, who specializes in infectious diseases, told ABC News.
"The Andes strain found in Chile and Argentina has the possibility of human-to-human transmission, but that's really more really close contact. It's not sharing the same household, it's more like sharing the same bed," she added.
Abdoler, who helped diagnose a case of hantavirus in Michigan in 2021, said the benefit that medical professionals and agencies, such as the World Health Organization, have now compared to COVID is that the hantavirus has been researched for over 30 years.
While the data around the virus is still limited given the rare number of cases outside of South America, Abdoler said there does not appear to be any indication that the transmission methods have changed.
ABC News medical contributor and epidemiologist Dr. John Brownstein concurred, saying that previous research suggests the hantavirus is a respiratory illness. That means germs can be coughed up, he noted, but it is not an aerosol-based virus.
"It's not like COVID or measles where it could linger in the air for some time," he said.
Brownstein added the incubation period for the virus is long, and despite the lower risk for person-to-person transmission, it is critical that health officials stick to their policies to isolate and monitor anyone connected to the Hondias.
"Incubation can be anywhere from one to eight weeks," he noted.
Eleven cases have been reported so far and have been linked to the ship's outbreak. Two passengers died from the virus and a third death has been deemed probable by WHO.
Dr. Stephen Kornfeld, who became the ship's de facto doctor after the Hondius' physician contracted the virus, initially tested positive, but later tested negative.
He and 15 other Hondius passengers are currently in quarantine the University of Nebraska Medical Center and have not shown any symptoms as of early Friday.
Two other American passengers were flown to Atlanta for "assessment and care," according to officials.
The remainder of the passengers are in isolation and being monitored.
Abdoler noted that the fact that there have not been as many positive cases from the ship and their contacts shows that the data about the Andes transmission is holding up and there are no signs that the virus can spread as easily as other pathogens.
"My sense is that there is no really need to panic, but [WHO] is taking a very conservative approach to the outbreak and asking everyone to isolate during the intubation period," she said.
"I think it is good they are taking a conservative approach because there are unknowns, but I am not personally altering my personal practices of travel or how I go out," she added.
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