But the US’s withdrawal from the WHO – and cuts to the country’s health system – stymie officials’ response

The US’s withdrawal from the WHO – and cuts to the country’s health system – stymie officials’ response

The outbreak of hantavirus on the Dutch cruise ship MV Hondius illuminates major gaps in the US public health system – a worrying sign for stopping this outbreak quickly and preparing for a potential pandemic of a more widespread pathogen in coming years, experts say.

Passengers and their close contacts are at risk of hantavirus and need to follow public health guidance, but the danger for most people is near zero, officials and scientists say. Experts expect more cases in this outbreak to be identified, but they are emphatic that a hantavirus pandemic is highly unlikely.

“This is not Covid, this is not influenza. It spreads very, very differently,” Maria Van Kerkhove, director of epidemic and pandemic management at the World Health Organization (WHO), said at a briefing on Thursday. “This is not the same situation we were in six years ago … It’s very different.”

The WHO has been coordinating a response with several countries. But Trump pulled out of the organization soon after taking office, and US leadership has been conspicuously absent in the global hantavirus response, experts say.

  • fizzle@quokk.auEnglish
    20·
    1 day ago

    While not a virus with pandemic potential, hantavirus is a warning sign that reveals how cuts to US capacity have severely limited the ability of officials and scientists to track and understand pathogens like these, with troubling implications for rare outbreaks and for pandemic preparedness writ large.

    This article says there’s no risk from hantavirus, but the Trump admin isn’t ready for an actual outbreak.

    • EmpathicVagrant@lemmy.world
      6·
      1 day ago

      There’s no risk from it under our normal circumstances, not accounting for current events or admin.

      Infectious disease prep eliminated, vaccines are villainized and disputed, misinformation once again tearing our social connection, and so many financial strains that distract everyone from the news or little additional things that need attention.