- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has increased its staff from three to 100 to contain a hantavirus outbreak, aiming to avoid strict safety measures similar to those implemented during the Covid pandemic, The Wall Street Journal reported.
- The outbreak, linked to the ocean vessel MV Hondius, has caused three deaths and 11 illnesses, with eight cases confirmed through laboratory tests.
- Eighteen American passengers from the MV Hondius have returned to the U.S. and are quarantined in specialized healthcare facilities in Nebraska and Atlanta, with one passenger testing positive for hantavirus.
- The Andes strain of hantavirus, found in South America, is spread by rodent droppings and is known to be less transmissible but more deadly than Covid, according to the report.
- Senior Trump officials, including the president, are addressing the outbreak and stressing low public risk, while some former CDC employees and experts have criticized the agency's initial response as slower than typical.
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