KUWAIT CITY, July 27: Amid the wave of panic in the United States due to the spread of Hantavirus that has claimed the lives of four people, an internal medicine and epidemiology consultant at Adan Hospital Dr. Ghanem Al-Hujailan affirmed that the virus does not pose a risk to Kuwait. In a press statement, he assured that, “Kuwait is completely distant from the hotspots of the virus’s spread, and there is no need for concern.” Dr. Al-Hujailan stated, “Hantavirus is a dangerous virus that became widespread among mice. It is unlikely to spread in Kuwait or be transmitted from travelers coming from abroad because it is transmitted from wild rodents to humans through contact with materials contaminated with rodent urine, saliva, or feces. It is not transmitted from person to person.”

On the global level, the American health authorities issued an urgent warning to be careful of the virus. The Department of Health Services in the state of Arizona confirmed the increase in the number of Hantavirus cases. The US health authorities revealed that from the beginning of this year, seven cases of Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome were confirmed with three deaths in Arizona, and two cases in California including one death. The health authorities said, “The most severe and sometimes fatal respiratory disease is caused by the Hantavirus. The main symptoms of infection are fever, headache, and muscle pain that quickly make breathing difficult. This virus may be present in many areas of the southwestern United States where there is rodent activity, even if mice have never been seen.”

By Marwa Al-Bahrawi
Al-Seyassah/Arab Times Staff