No strains of hantavirus in Dominica, medical officer confirms

There are no cases relating to hantaviruses in Dominica, the chief medical officer on the island has confirmed with “absolute certainty”.

These lab tests were taking place in Georgia, USA, at the Center for Disease Control.

But now Dr David Johnson has announced that the results were negative, and he stressed that there have been no cases in the Caribbean for at least 20 years.

“The studies we have seen, and working with our other reputable bodies including the Pan American Health Organization, we have been able to confirm in fact there is no case that is circulating in the region, certainly between 1998 and 2016, 2017, ” he said.

Hantaviruses are a group of viruses that are normally carried by rodents, such as rats, mice and voles.

They cause a range of diseases in humans ranging from mild, flu-like illness to severe respiratory illness or haemorrhagic disease with kidney involvement.

One Caribbean media outlet previously reported that a patient died from a hantavirus-related condition at the country’s main hospital – although it appears now that this report is false.