CDC activates Level 3 emergency response for hantavirus outbreak: Here's what that means
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has activated its 24/7 emergency center in Atlanta to monitor the recent deadly hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship, sources tell CBS News.
CDC officials say its center is now operating on a Level 3 response. That's the lowest level of emergency activation.
According to the CDC document, a Level 3 response involves CDC experts in the disease leading the activation with their own staff and possible assistance from some staff at the Emergency Activation Center.
The Atlanta-based federal health organization has only initiated a Level 1 response, which requires maximum staff working 24/7, three times in its history: Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the H1N1 influenza outbreak in 2009, and the Ebola outbreak in 2014.
If the situation escalates, the CDC could increase the level.
Tracking possible exposure to the hantavirus
Three people have died aboard the MV Hondius from the virus, the first of whom died nearly a month before officials confirmed hantavirus in a ship passenger.
At least five U.S. states and 11 other countries are currently monitoring people who disembarked the cruise ship before cases of hantavirus were confirmed, the World Health Organization reported.
In Georgia, two residents who recently returned home are being monitored, state health officials announced on Wednesday.
The Georgia Department of Public Health said that both individuals are currently in good health and have shown no signs of infection. They are adhering to CDC recommendations.
Hantaviruses usually spread when people inhale contaminated residue of rodent droppings. While human cases are rare, small outbreaks have been documented around the world. But the Andes virus implicated in the cruise ship outbreak may be able to spread between people in rare cases. There is no specific treatment or cure, but early medical attention can increase the chance of survival.
About 140 people remain on the cruise ship headed for the Canary Islands, where they will disembark, and none have been reported to be sick. The State Department said it is in direct contact with a number of American citizens on board the cruise ship and will offer them a special flight home from Tenerife in Spain when the vessel arrives there this weekend.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.