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Cruise ship hantavirus outbreak highlights persistent food safety risks from rodents

Cruise ship hantavirus outbreak highlights persistent food safety risks from rodents

A deadly hantavirus outbreak aboard the MV Hondius in the South Atlantic is drawing renewed attention to rodent contamination as a serious food safety risk.

As of May 12, the outbreak aboard the vessel had been linked to 11 illnesses, including nine laboratory-confirmed hantavirus infections, with three deaths reported, according to the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP) at the University of Minnesota.

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