90-Second Read: Hantavirus outbreak linked to cruise ship grows to 13 cases

Over the past five days, two more cases of Hantavirus have been confirmed among passengers and crew who were aboard the MV Hondius Dutch cruise ship in April and May. The outbreak now has 13 cases, three of which were fatal. The case count from the Dutch cruise outbreak remains at 11 cases, including three fatalities. The Andes strain causing the outbreak is the only known Hantavirus capable of spreading from person to person.

So far, none of the cases have occurred in anyone who was not aboard the cruise ship. No linked cases in people were identified, but the authors said leptospirosis is likely underdiagnosed in people. There are at least 500 suspected cases, including 130 deaths, so far in the outbreak. Both newly confirmed case-patients are receiving care in Spain.

Adults with healthier hearts before the pandemic were nearly half as likely to have severe COVID-19 than those with poorer heart health, suggests a study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association. The team fielded two questionnaires, conducted event surveillance, and tested blood samples to identify COVID-19 infections and evaluate associations between severe illness and the American Heart Association's (AHA's) Life Essential 8 (LE8) metrics. Cardiovascular disease is a risk factor for severe COVID‐19 (ie, hospitalization or death). Higher scores for the LE8 components of greater physical activity, healthier weight, optimal blood pressure, and good sleep patterns were each tied to a lower risk of severe infection.

When the outbreak was over, the team compared data on 59 infected dogs with data on 15,536 controls. The outbreak was traced to dog daycare facilities, where close contact may have accelerated animal-to-animal spread, an unusual occurrence. People also are susceptible to the disease through contact with contaminated water or animal urine, particularly that from rodents.