The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has officially ended its response to a hantavirus outbreak linked to a cruise ship, nearly two months after the virus killed three people. The Wall Street Journal first reported the development on Wednesday.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) confirmed that its efforts had reached a 'successful conclusion.' Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. stated, 'No sustained transmission of Hantavirus occurred in the United States, and the monitoring period has concluded with no individuals remaining under observation.'

The outbreak involved the Andes virus, a rare hantavirus strain typically circulating in Argentina and Chile. The cruise ship departed from Argentina on April 1. There were 18 US residents on board the MV Hondius in the Atlantic when the outbreak began.

All US citizens potentially exposed to hantavirus on board completed their 42-day monitoring period on Sunday and have since returned to their home states. No hantavirus cases were reported in the US. The CDC has repeatedly stated that the risk to the US public remains extremely low.

A joint response by the CDC and the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) collaborated with foreign governments, monitoring services, and the healthcare system. CDC acting director Jay Bhattacharya said the successful conclusion 'demonstrates the strength of a coordinated response to infectious disease threats that occur outside of our borders.'

Hantavirus spreads primarily through rodents. The Andes virus is the only known hantavirus that can spread through close, prolonged human-to-human contact. CDC scientists recently returned from Argentina, where they trapped and tested rodents in areas connected to the cruise ship's route. Preliminary results from rodent samples all came back negative, and the likely source of exposure remains under investigation.

Source: www.aljazeera.com