The Arizona Department of Health Services has confirmed that a second person from the state was on the Dutch cruise ship, MV Hondius, at the time of the hantavirus outbreak. Additionally, the department revealed that a previously reported Arizona passenger resides in Maricopa County. The second Arizonan is among a group of passengers who were taken to Nebraska for evaluation. This person will return to Arizona after being assessed and transportation is arranged to ensure public safety. The person will have an incubation period of six to eight weeks.
Dr. Jeffrey Langland, Director of the Ric Scalzo Institute for Botanical Research, joined “Arizona Horizon” to answer questions regarding the hantavirus outbreak what it means for people traveling this summer.
Six years removed from COVID-19, people across the country are expressing a sentiment of déjà vu. Fortunately, Langland does not believe anyone has to worry about the possibility of hantavirus becoming a global pandemic.
“We live in a world post-COVID and so everybody’s on this panic stage right now and we don’t need to do that. We have no viruses right now that are likely becoming a pandemic,” Langland said.
Langland added the outbreak is nearing an end. However, people planning cruise ship vacations should be wary of norovirus.
“This is likely going to be the end of this outbreak. The one cruise ship that came out of South America did a short excursion where they got exposed to these rodents and that sort of thing here.
Cruise ships in general do expose some risk, though. We often hear about cruise ships with norovirus outbreaks or respiratory illness and that sort of thing here. And that will continue to exist,” Langland said.
