The county health department is hoping to assuage community fear this week by sharing information about three King County residents being monitored for symptoms of hantavirus related to the virus outbreak last week on the cruise ship MV Hondius.
Public Health —Seattle & King County Medical Officer and acting Executive Director Dr. Sandra Valenciano posted a video on Instagram and YouTube and the department posted an article on the blog Public Health Insider this week updating the public on how that monitoring is being conducted.
The updates followed a blog earlier in the week outlining the risks of hantavirus in our region: “What’s the risk of hantavirus in King County? What parents need to know.”
Valenciano stressed in her video post that none of the three county residents being monitored has shown any symptoms of the virus, which can take up to 40 days to show up. One was a passenger on the ship and is being monitored in another state. Others sat near a ship passenger on a plane.
Here is Dr. Valenciano’s video update posted Tuesday.
To stay abreast of this issue, follow the Public health Insider blog.
