Concerns continue about federal response to hantavirus

WASHINGTON (Gray DC) - The continuing concerns about hantavirus infections and possible spread come amidst upheaval with President Trump’s public health team.

Now, the Food and Drug Administration Commissioner, Dr. Marty Makary, has resigned.

While 18 American passengers are in some form of medical isolation, others flew home to California and Arizona, choosing to be monitored for symptoms.

Monday, President Donald Trump told reporters that the U.S. is in great shape, “So, you know, I hope it’s fine. All I can do is. Everything that a President can do, which is actually somewhat limited. But. It seems like it. Is not easy to spread. In fact, it’s in certain ways very hard to spread. It’s been we’ve lived with it for years, many years. And we think we’re in very good shape.

Hantavirus can be found in the desert U.S. and there have been previous outbreaks. This variant from the Andes mountains of South America is different – it can be spread by human-to-human contact, not just from rodents.

Senator Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) is worried, “The hantavirus outbreak reminds us of what we learned during Covid-19: we need to invest in public health and pandemic preparedness. Sadly, the Trump administration has not learned that lesson.”

President Trump has tasked the head of the National Institutes of Health and the acting director of the Centers for Disease Control Dr. Jay Bhattacharya to manage the response.

“It’s not like Covid doesn’t spread very easily from person to person, even this Andes variant, but because there is a possibility of that, we want to we’re isolating them. I mean, there’s not an official formal quarantine, but what we’re doing is we’re saying we don’t want the risk of the of the virus spreading to other other people in the United States.”

The medical isolation and monitoring for the passengers will continue, since hantavirus can develop up to six weeks after exposure.

“I can just report from this morning that we’ve heard that, that the Americans that had symptoms, that we were worried this might be indicators of, of a, of this disease have tested negative thus far. Now, normally this disease, it can take up to 42 days after first exposure to develop symptoms. I mean, normally after the first three weeks you’re pretty much home safe,” said Dr. Bhattacharya, “But we had cases. We lasted up to 42, 42 days. And so what what I can tell you is that nobody in the United States has tested positive, has like is is thought to have actually have the disease.”

In the meantime, lawmakers are calling for more investment in public health after the cuts at NIH and CDC.

According to a social media post by the Department of Health and Human Services Tuesday, all 16 Americans under observation in Omaha remain without symptoms. The patient at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta who was showing symptoms has tested negative for the Andes variant of hantavirus.

Later on Tuesday, President Donald Trump confirmed on social media that Dr. Marty Makary is out at the Food and Drug Administration, “I want to thank Dr. Marty Makary for having done a great job at the FDA. So much was accomplished under his leadership. He was a hard worker, who was respected by all, and will go on to have an outstanding career in Medicine.”