The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has classified the ongoing hantavirus outbreak as a “level 3” classification on Friday, according to a report by ABC News.
Citing multiple sources, the report said the CDC activated its Emergency Operations Centers, indicating the assembly of an emergency response team.
According to ABC, the team may include epidemiologists, scientists, and physicians.
The report noted that a “level 3” designation is standard at this stage and is the lowest CDC emergency activation level, with the agency actively monitoring the virus‘s progress.
Also on Friday, two new suspected cases of hantavirus were reported as experts race to contain an outbreak that began on a luxury cruise ship.
The cruise left Argentina in March with around 150 passengers and stopped in the Antarctic and other locations before heading north to waters off Cape Verde, west of Africa, where it has been briefly held this week after news of the cases emerged.
US response could be hindered by WHO withdrawal
NBC News reported on Friday that the US withdrawal from the World Health Organization (WHO) could hinder the country’s response to a possible hantavirus outbreak.
The report cited health officials as saying that, with the US out of the organization, it might not have immediate access to surveillance data on the virus and contact-tracing information for cases linked to the cruise ship that carried the first reported cases of the deadly virus.
This type of tracking could help prevent further infections, according to the report.
Ariella Roitman and Reuters contributed to this report.
