CDC sidelines itself as hantavirus cruise ship outbreak grabs global attention
Source: Scripps News/AP
Posted 10:16 AM, May 09, 2026 and last updated 10:16 AM, May 09, 2026
No quick dispatching of disease investigators. No news conference to inform the public. No timely health alerts to doctors.
In the midst of a strange outbreak of hantavirus on a cruise ship that involves Americans and is making headlines around the world, the U.S. government's top public health agency, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has been missing in action, according to a number of experts. “We seem to have things under very good control," President Donald Trump told reporters Friday evening.
But experts say the situation has not spiraled because, unlike COVID-19 or measles or the flu, hantavirus does not spread easily. It has been experts in other countries, not the United States, who have been dealing primarily with the outbreak in the past week. “The CDC is not even a player," said Lawrence Gostin, an international public health expert at Georgetown University. “I've never seen that before.”
The CDC's diminished role in this outbreak is an indicator the agency is no longer the force in international health or the protector of domestic health that it once was, some experts said. The hantavirus outbreak is “a sentinel event” that speaks to “how well the country is prepared for a disease threat. And right now, I’m very sorry to say that we are not prepared,” said Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo, chief executive officer of the Infectious Diseases Society of America.
Read more: https://www.scrippsnews.com/health/cdc-sidelines-itself-as-hantavirus-cruise-ship-outbreak-grabs-global-attention
= new reply since forum marked as read
Kick in to the DU tip jar?
This week we're running a special pop-up mini fund drive. From Monday through Friday we're going ad-free for all registered members, and we're asking you to kick in to the DU tip jar to support the site and keep us financially healthy.
As a bonus, making a contribution will allow you to leave kudos for another DU member, and at the end of the week we'll recognize the DUers who you think make this community great.