Access TeleCare’s chief of infectious disease Dr. Jade Le provided expert analysis and perspective on the recent hantavirus outbreak on the cruise ship MV Hondius to the Dallas-Fort Worth NBC news affiliate.
As a board-certified infectious disease specialist for nearly 20 years and former Peace Corps volunteer, Dr. Le has cared for patients internationally and, through telemedicine, has cared for patients with rare and unusual infections, including hantavirus, across the U.S.
“It [hantavirus] is not a virus that is easily transmitted from person to person like COVID. You actually have to be staying in the same room within close contact for a prolonged period of time to get it,” Le told the Dallas Fort Worth NBC news affiliate last week.
While there is no preventive vaccination or treatment and the lengthy incubation period can make quarantining challenging for asymptomatic individuals, Dr. Le encourages the public to remain calm and maintain vacation and other summer plans.
For patients with hantavirus that Dr. Le has cared for previously in the U.S., isolated cases have not led to widespread outbreaks.
Watch the full NBCDFW news story with Dr. Le here.
