5 Topic Commentaries

Hantavirus at Sea: Cause for Concern?

Hantavirus at Sea: Cause for Concern?

• 

  Jorge Salinas, MD, MD

  Infectious Diseases / Infection Prevention

  •

  Stanford Health Care

  No, I wouldn’t be worried. If you’re going on a plane or a cruise this summer, I would say your risk of getting hantavirus is very close to zero.

  Source
• 

  Carl Fichtenbaum, MD, MD

  Infectious Diseases

  •

  University of Cincinnati College of Medicine

  We don't need to hit the panic button right now.

  Source
• 

  William Hanage, PhD, PhD

  Infectious Disease Epidemiology

  •

  Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

  One thing which I’m going to say right now is that I’m absolutely confident that this is going to be limited and contained. The number of people in the world who should be worried about this now is in the low hundreds, if not less. The only question is how long it will take to contain it.

  Source
• 

  Raina Plowright, PhD, MS, BVSc, PhD, MS, BVSc

  Disease Ecology / Zoonoses

  •

  Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine

  This is why scientists worry not only about new viruses, but also about old viruses in new contexts. A cruise ship creates conditions of prolonged close contact in crowded indoor environments. That does not mean widespread transmission will necessarily occur, but it changes the epidemiological context in ways that deserve careful attention.

  Source
• 

  J Lee Jenkins, MD, MD

  Critical event preparedness and response

  •

  Johns Hopkins Medicine

  The chance for broad spread in the U.S. is extremely unlikely.

  Source