Two Hudson Valley residents are among those being isolated and monitored following the headline-making hantavirus outbreak linked to the MV Hondius cruise ship.
One resident of Orange County and another from Westchester County were flown to Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska on May 11 and then taken to University of Nebraska Medical center to be quarantined in a 42-day monitoring period for possible exposure to the high-mortality Andes straight of hantavirus.
There is another Hudson Valley connection: Jake Rosmarin, a Monroe native and travel blogger, was also a passenger on the ship. His social media posts documenting the frightening process of being quarantined have gone viral.
“We’re not just a story. We’re not just headlines,” he wrote in one popular post. “We’re people with families… all we want right now is to feel safe, to have clarity and to get home.”
Fortunately for the public at large, the Andes strain of hantavirus has low transmissibility, requiring prolonged close contact to spread. There is no evidence the virus is mutating to become more easily transmissible. This has not stopped many in the press from chasing views with breathless headlines that stoke fear in readers who don’t understand how endemics and pandemics take shape. This contained outbreak has little to no chance of spreading to any meaningful population size, but its high mortality rate (30-40%) is of great concern for the individual.
“At this point, it is important to emphasize that there is no immediate risk to the public,” wrote New York State health commissioner in a statement. “We will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates as needed.”
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