Transcript - Update on CDC's Hantavirus Response

Please Note: This transcript is not edited and may contain errors.

Operator:

Good afternoon and thank you for standing by for the duration of today's call. All listeners are in a listen only mode until the question and answer session. At that time, credentialed members of the media press can press star one to ask a question or star two to withdraw a question. Today's call is being recorded. If you have any objections, you may disconnect at this time. I would now like to introduce Mr. Benjamin Haynes. Thank you, sir. You may begin.

Benjamin Haynes:

Thank you, Shirley. And thank you all for joining us today for CDC's Hantavirus response update. Here to discuss the response is CDC's hantavirus response lead, Dr. David Fitter and CDC's Nebraska team lead, Dr. Brendan Jackson. Both will share brief remarks before we take your questions and at this time I'd like to turn the call over to Dr. Fitter.

Dr. David Fitter:

Thank you, Ben and good afternoon everybody and thank you for joining us. My name is Dr. David Fitter and I'm with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and I am the Incident Manager for the hantavirus response here. I want to start by saying hantavirus is a known pathogen. While Andes virus has some distinct characteristics including rare person-to-person transmission, our experts have allowed us to respond effectively while remaining vigilant about its unique features. At this moment I want to emphasize that the risk to the general public is low. Our top priority is both the passengers who are on the ship and American communities. From the earliest stages of this outbreak, CDC has been working in close coordination with state and public health authorities with federal partners including ASPR and the State Department and international health partners, including countries that have been impacted by this. CDC activated our emergency response in Atlanta immediately and has more than 100 staff actively working on this response. Operationally, we've been engaged at every step. As soon as we were notified by the IHR, we responded and connected with international partners and developed guidance for the American passengers in the ship. We provided information about the Andes virus to the passengers on board and also have kept them updated here in the United States through our staff on the ground as well as through calls with them to answer their questions. A CDC team was deployed to the Canary Islands to provide public health expertise on site, including speaking with each individual U.S. citizen about their potential exposure. Two members of that team actually then joined the American passengers on the repatriation flight back to Nebraska. The additional CDC team met the plain when it landed in Nebraska and is conducting assessments and supporting the passengers now that they've returned to the United States. CDC also published a HAN prior to the repatriation of the American citizens. In addition, CDC has posted a toolkit, an FAQ document, current situation overview, and fact sheet on our updated web page. We've held two Hill briefings, and have just completed a call with the governors from the States with repatriated Americans. We've also held daily calls with state health officials. Our role now is to continue our conversations with each passenger about their potential exposure and work with partners to ensure appropriate monitoring. We're sharing real-time information with state and federal partners so decisions are based on the health assessments of each passenger and the best available evidence. CDC currently recommends testing only for people with symptoms. There is a blood test specifically for Andes that has been validated as well as a PCR test for Andes, but it's currently for research use only and not used for patient care yet. And of course, we will continue to work with state and local health departments if needed. We are focusing on delivering safe, respectful care and transparent communication to the individuals who returned and their families. To the American public, please know we are here to protect your health and based on current information the risk to the general population remains low. So far our response has followed our playbook. A swift action across federal, state, and local public health. The systems and partnerships that we've built exist precisely for situations like this. The work isn't always visible. Sharing information with state and local health departments and coordinating guidance and monitoring, but it never stops. It's deliberate. It's coordinated and essential to keep our community safe. I'll now turn it over the call to Dr. Brendan Jackson, who's leading the CDC team in Nebraska.

Dr. Brendan Jackson:

Great, thanks David. My name is Brendan Jackson, and as David said, I'm CDC's team lead in Nebraska, and I'm a medical epidemiologist. So we currently have a dedicated team of CDC health, health professionals deployed here in Nebraska responding. Our team's been working around the clock to ensure the health and safety of everyone involved. We're currently conducting public health assessments on site. These in-depth health assessments include asking each passenger about their exposure to the confirmed cases. And the University of Nebraska team here is conducting regular temperature monitoring, symptoms screening, and general wellness evaluations. This particular virus has a long incubation period, so the monitoring period is 42 days, and the 42 days started with the departure of the ship. So May 11th was the day one. We're here to support the people who have returned from the ship and the excellent Nebraska team here in Omaha. Thank you.

Benjamin Haynes:

Thank you, Dr. Jackson and Dr. Fitter. At this time I'd like to open it up for questions.

Operator:

Thank you. If you are a credentialed member of the media and would like to ask a question during the call, please press star one on your touch tone phone. Press star two to withdraw your question. You may queue up at any time. Our first question comes from Erika Edwards with NBC News. Your line is open, you may ask your question.

Erika Edwards:

Okay, thanks so much for doing this. I was curious whether the passenger who was considered a mildly positive case has been retested back here in the U.S. Was that test, the one that Dr. Fitter mentioned and I'm curious what the turnaround time for those test results are. And also if you could just talk a little bit about the decisions being made about possibility of quarantining at home, any more specifics you have about what those people might be able to do or cannot do if they are determined to be able to quarantine at home. Thank you.

Dr. David Fitter:

The initial test that we received was from abroad and it was inconclusive in its results. So we're in the process of testing currently and we hope to have those results back in a day or so. With regards to home monitoring, we're working very closely with states and jurisdictions as well as with the passengers themselves and other contacts to ensure that they have the information they need. We're taking a conservative approach on this and we really are encouraging people to stay at their homes and work very closely with the state and local health departments to ensure that they are appropriately monitored in that space.

Benjamin Haynes: Next question please.

Operator: Thank you one one moment please for our next question. Question comes from Wale Aliyu from Atlanta News First. Your line is open. You may ask your question.

Wale Aliyu:

Hi, I have two questions. The first, can you hear me okay?

Benjamin Haynes: Yes, please go on.

Wale Aliyu: Okay. First question, can you just elaborate on the couple taken to Emory and just their current conditions?

Dr. David Fitter:

Yes, we don't talk about the specific individuals really to respect the privacy of everybody.

Wale Aliyu:

I figured so totally understandable. The second question I had is I know most reports have said there's very low risk to the general public at this point. What would you say to people who have concerns about the comparison to COVID-19, if you remember some of those early reports also said low risk to the general public.

Dr. David Fitter:

Yeah, this is not a novel virus. This is a known virus and we've seen this in the United States before and we know how to respond to it. And that's what we're doing and we're putting into action all the things that we have in place to ensure that American communities remain safe and healthy. What we really want to do is ensure that we're also communicating about this. We'll continue to update the U.S. about everything that we're doing in multiple ways through our websites and other endeavors like this.

Benjamin Haynes:

Next question, please.

Operator:

Thank you. Our next question then comes from Pien Huang with NPR. Your line is open, you may ask your question.

Pien Huang:

Hi, thanks so much for doing this. I have two questions as well, both about quarantine. So first of all, I'm wondering if any federal or state authorities are currently being used to quarantine any of the people exposed to hantavirus or if it's all voluntary at this point. And secondly, I want to ask about the home quarantine situation because the people's homes don't have isolated negative air pressure rooms. It's hard to guarantee 100% adherence. I'm wondering if that worries you or concerns you at all about the people who are or will be monitoring from home.

Dr. David Fitter:

So currently, there are no state or federal quarantine orders that have been drawn. We're working really closely with all contacts to ensure that they understand what is expected for them to appropriately monitor themselves. But we also want to make sure that they have the right information so that they can understand the situation as best as possible. I can't tell you how much I appreciate our state and health local partners, what they've been doing. They've been doing multiple checks daily to ensure that everything is going well for people. They've been explaining the situation to them as well. I think everybody should be extraordinarily proud of the network of partners, of state and local health partners that we have in the United States. Our goal is to ensure that we're able to follow our monitoring guidelines, but to work with passengers to ensure that they're able to do it. And if they need to do it somewhere else, we will work with them, will work with state and local health departments to ensure that that happens as well. Again, I just really want to reiterate the safety and health of the passengers is critical to us as well as the safety and health of the American communities.

Benjamin Haynes:

Next question please.

Operator:

Thank you. Our next question comes from Maggie Vespa with NBC News, your line is open. You may ask your question.

Maggie Vespa:

Hi there. Yeah. Thank you so much for this. I have two questions. The first is a clarification of my colleagues' question. Did you say that specific to the asymptomatic patients or passengers in quarantine in Nebraska that you are encouraging them to isolate at home or just what can we know about whether they'll be encouraged to stay here during the full six week incubation period?

Dr. David Fitter:

The people that are in Nebraska currently, they have been encouraged that they can, to stay in Nebraska. It is a fantastic facility. We really appreciate the state of Nebraska as well as the University of Nebraska Medical Center for everything they have done. And that is a great place for them to be able to do this, but also as we continue to coordinate the best monitoring for them.

Maggie Vespa:

And there's no version of keeping them here? And I'm using that verbiage really intentionally.

Dr. David Fitter:

Our goal is to continue to work with them for the best possible place for them and we encourage them to be there.

Maggie Vespa: Okay, I really appreciate it. My question prior to needing that clarification, and thank you so much for that. A number of exposures popping up in other states came from residents, according to health officials, who said they were traveling with exposed passengers inadvertently. So my question is, why weren't the exposed cruise ship passengers transported in a way that kept them away from the general public, like on a private plane or something like that?

Dr. Brendan Jackson: I can jump in here. This is Brendan Jackson. So the passengers that are being monitored were on shared flights were passengers were separate from the passengers who were on the ship at the time the outbreak was detected. So they had actually left the ship before the outbreak was detected. All the passengers that were on the ship after that detection phase were transported just several days ago on a private plane directly from the Canary Islands to here in Omaha, Nebraska.

Maggie Vespa: Okay. In other words, if they were inadvertently on the same flight, it would be because those passengers had left early and didn't yet know about the outbreak.

Dr. Brendan Jackson Correct.

Maggie Vespa:

Okay, thank you so much for that. I really appreciate it.

Benjamin Haynes: We're ready for the next question. Could you also remind the reporters how to raise their hand for a question, please?

Operator: Certainly, you can press star one to ask a question. Our next question comes from Michael Erman with Reuters. Your line is open. You may ask your question.

Michael Erman: Hi, this is Mike Irman from Reuters. You know, I just wanted, you know, a little bit of clarification on the passenger and the biocontainment unit in Nebraska. On Monday, the briefing said that that passenger had tested positive. I think mildly positive was the language used. And now you call that test inconclusive. So I'm wondering if you could give us some clarification or understanding why that test is being called inconclusive now instead of positive. And then the other question is, will that passenger remain in the biocontainment unit if they test negative again?

Dr. David Fitter:

Thank you. The test that we initially got, there was a positive and a negative. From our standpoint, we wanted to redo the test to ensure that we had a test that was done here and we had the results. And thus, that's what we are waiting for. We want to make sure that we have the best possible information so that we can help that passenger.

Michael Erman: And if they test negative, will they remain in the Bio Containment Unit or will they be moved to the quarantine unit with the rest of the passengers?

Dr. David Fitter: We're coordinating with the University of Nebraska Medical Center to ensure appropriate disposition.

Benjamin Haynes: Next question please.

Operator:

Thank you. And as question comes from John LaPook with CBS News, your line is open.

John LaPook:

Yeah, hi, thanks a lot. Two questions. First, quick, you say only you're only testing people with symptoms. Why not collect and store blood for research purposes or are you already doing that. And then do you believe you have all the potentially exposed people identified how many are outside of Nebraska and Atlanta and has anybody elected not to stay at home? And finally if you know it, can you tell us the cycle time for that PCR that was sort of inconclusive?

Dr. David Fitter: So I'll start from the top and thank you for the questions. We are recommending that symptomatic people with an exposure risk get tested. However, we're also working with states and partners on ways to better understand the virus, for other testing modalities. We are working very closely with the states and local health departments and the passengers that are home and the contacts that are home. Everybody is working well together to ensure monitoring follows our recommendations.

John LaPook:

And for the PCR? Do we have the actual number on that?

Dr. David Fitter:

We're working to get all the information from the country where that test was run.

John LaPook:

Okay, and we don't know the number of people who are outside of Nebraska and Atlanta?

Dr. David Fitter:

With respect for privacy of all individuals, we're not sharing locations.

Benjamin Haynes:

Next question please.

Operator: Thank you and this question comes from Kevin Stewart with WAGA TV Fox 5 Atlanta. Your mic is open, you may ask your question.

Kevin Stewart:

Good afternoon, regarding the Atlanta passengers. We know yesterday that one of the passengers tested negative. Will that person and the asymptomatic person be clear to leave before the 42 days are up? And also where, what is the status of the two Georgia passengers who got back home last week and are being monitored by the Department of Health here in Georgia?

Dr. David Fitter: So again, with respect for the passengers that are in monitoring right now, I'm not going to go into a lot of details, but we're working very closely with Emory to ensure that they have the appropriate disposition. With regards to Georgia and the contacts that are here, we're working very closely with the state of Georgia health department and the local health departments to ensure that they are appropriately monitored.

Kevin Stewart:

Will they be cleared, they can lead before the 42 days, correct?

Dr. David Fitter:

They'll continue to be monitored.

Kevin Stewart:

But whether that is at Emory or at home.

Dr. David Fitter:

Currently we're working on the appropriate disposition for them.But again, as you can imagine, out of respect for privacy for them, I'm going to stop there.

Kevin Stewart:

Can you confirm they're still at Emory?

Dr. David Fitter: Yes. Benjamin Haynes:

We have time for two more questions, please.

Operator:

Thank you. Our next question actually, we didn't get the name, but from WSB Channel 2, you may ask your question.

Courtney Francisco:

Can you hear me? It's Courtney Francisco. I'm hoping you can tell me -- it went out on May 2^nd. I need to know how many people are being monitored.

Dr. David Fitter:

At this time, we're not putting out exact numbers. Again, we want to ensure that we are protecting and respecting the privacy of all the individuals.

Benjamin Haynes:

Shirley we'll take one more if they have it.

Operator:

Certainly, one second here. And we have a question from Lila Perry with Baltimore Sun, your line is open you may ask your question.

Lila Perry:

Hi, thanks so much for doing this. Back to the topic of passengers on planes who were inadvertently exposed to people from the cruise ship. You know, when state departments of health are saying that they're monitoring these airline passengers, what does that look like if they're exposed from a distance or for a short time? Are they being monitored in state facilities or asked to stay home and how closely are you advising state partners to be monitoring these people?

Dr. David Fitter:

We're working very closely to ensure that our guidance is consistent across all of the contacts. And for those on the -- that were contacts on the planes, they also would fall into the appropriate category and we're working with state and locals to ensure that those monitoring recommendations are followed very closely. And we're in such close coordination with their state and local health departments, talking with the them daily thus far it is working very well with the systems that they have in place and they're developing their systems themselves to ensure that it follows the guidance that we've put out.

Benjamin Haynes:

Thank you, Dr. Fitter and thank you, Dr. Jackson. At this time we will conclude the call and we appreciate you all joining us for this brief update. Thank you.

Operator:

Thank you and that does conclude today's conference. Thank you for your participation. And at this time you may disconnect your lines.