World Health Organization – which the US left under Trump – has been leading the response to the cruise ship outbreak
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has confirmed it is sending a team to Spain’s Canary Islands, where the hantavirus-stricken cruise ship MV Hondius is expected to arrive on Sunday, and US passengers will be evacuated to an airbase in Nebraska. However, experts say the US is unprepared for such a disease threat.
The CDCs limited role in responding to the hantavirus outbreak is raising questions, including whether it now has a diminished role in responding to health scares. Most of the response has been led by the World Health Organization (WHO), of which the US is no longer a member.
The hantavirus outbreak was reported to the WHO on 2 May; a notice issued two days later updated to seven confirmed or suspected cases. Three people had died, one person was critically ill and three others had mild symptoms.
It's got a 50% kill rate in the Americas. The one that made the news recently is also the one that can spread from person to person. Preventing spread is where the work needs to be done, not the treatment. With the CDC taking a bunch of cuts in personnel and funding under the current administration, who's going to do that work? The USA could wind up being the place it gets enough of a foothold to mutate into something even more spreadable.