California is now included as a part of a frantic global search to locate passengers who left a cruise shiplinked to a deadly outbreak of hantavirus.
Three passengers — including a Dutch couple and a German national — died and at least eight others fell ill aboard theMV Hondiusafter contracting the virus during an expedition run by Netherlands-based Oceanwide Expeditions.
Nearly two weeks after thefirst death onboard, more than two dozen passengers had already disembarked the ship without full contact tracing, according to officials.
Those individuals are now being actively tracked as health agencies work to determine whether any secondary spread has occurred.
State health officials confirmed residents of California were aboard the vessel and are being monitored as a precaution.
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None of the Californians have tested positive or developed symptoms, but they remain under observation as part of ongoing surveillance efforts.
Investigators believe the outbreak may have originated before the cruise, with Argentine health authorities focusing on a southern region where a Dutch couple reportedly contracted the virus during a bird-watching trip before boarding the ship.
The World Health Organization says the overall public risk remains low, noting that hantavirus is usually transmitted through inhalation of particles from infected rodent droppings, and is not easily spread between people.
However, concern has increased because the Andes strain found in South America is the only variant known to allow limited person-to-person transmission.
Source: California Post – Breaking California News, Photos & Videos
