OKLAHOMA CITY (KOKH) — As questions surround an outbreak of a rare virus on board a cruise ship, health leaders in Oklahoma say they are keeping an eye on the spread of cases.
Health officials say hantavirus can be contracted when people breathe in air contaminated by rodent droppings. While hantavirus infections are rare and do not usually spread between people, a specific strain known as the Andes virus—found in South America—has been known to transmit person-to-person, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
“It is a rare but severe disease that can be deadly. Although uncommon, limited human-to-human transmission has been reported in previous outbreaks of the Andes virus,” WHO said in a release. “WHO currently assesses the risk to the global population from this event as low and will continue to monitor the epidemiological situation and update the risk assessment.”…