00:00break of the hantavirus on a cruise ship carrying passengers from across the world is a situation
00:05that authorities say they are taking incredibly seriously here's dr mariana brown to tell us more
00:11it's dr brown with a hanta virus update tonight health authorities around the world continue to
00:18closely monitor the hanta virus outbreak that has been linked to the expedition cruise ship
00:23the mv hondias as of tonight there are approximately eight suspected cases with five confirmed infections
00:31and three reported deaths associated with this outbreak one of these confirmed cases is in
00:37switzerland after a passenger disembarked the cruise ship and sought medical attention in zurich what
00:43is raising particular concern among infectious disease experts is that this outbreak is linked
00:49to the andy strain the only strain of the hantavirus that is capable of person-to-person
00:55transmission most hantavirus infections occur after exposure to infected rodent saliva urine or
01:03droppings however the andy strain has demonstrated limited human-to-human spread particularly among
01:10close contacts and family members the mv hondias was carrying passengers from multiple countries
01:17the mv hondias was carrying passengers from the mv hondias was carrying passengers from the mv hondias
01:24early symptoms of the hantavirus can resemble severe flu-like symptoms including fever headache body aches nausea
01:34and fatigue in more severe cases patients can develop respiratory distress fluid accumulation in the lungs also
01:42known as pulmonary edema shock and death despite the seriousness of this outbreak the world health
01:50organization advises that the overall public health risk remains low
01:57this means that experts do not believe that this situation is likely to escalate to a pandemic
02:04so do not panic nonetheless officials continue to monitor the outbreak carefully due to the rare
02:12possibility of human-to-human transmission associated with the andy strain of the hantavirus
02:19it's dr mariana brown the tv6
02:21thomas
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