Special Edition: Hantavirus Explained – What's the Risk?
The NewsWorthy
Erica Mandy
3.9 • 1.3K Ratings
🗓️ 15 May 2026
⏱️ 21 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
We're releasing this episode a day early to help answer some of the biggest questions about the rare hantavirus outbreak linked to a cruise ship.
As passengers return to their home countries, including the U.S., epidemiologist Dr. Katelyn Jetelina explains what makes this virus unique, how experts are working to contain it, and what her level of concern is right now for the general public.
Plus, what would change her assessment, why experts are waiting until next week to breathe a little easier, and much more.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | We are not dealing with COVID-19. This is not just spreading around and you could get it at Walmart, for example. I am more concerned for those passengers. This is like a movie-type virus or, you know, a thriller you would read in a book. |
| 0:16.3 | Today is Saturday, May 16th. We want to help you fully understand the situation surrounding |
| 0:21.6 | the hauntavirus outbreak that's linked to a cruise ship. As passengers have returned to their |
| 0:25.6 | home countries, including here in the U.S., there are a lot of questions about what comes next |
| 0:30.5 | and what the actual risk is to the general public. So joining me to explain all about this virus |
| 0:35.8 | is Dr. Caitlin Gentilina. |
| 0:40.8 | She's an epidemiologist and one of the nation's leading scientific communicators. |
| 0:44.7 | She's behind the widely read public health newsletter, your local epidemiologist. |
| 0:53.9 | She's also an adjunct professor at the Yale School of Public Health, a former advisor to three CDC directors, and has been a time 100 most influential people in health. Today, she helps us |
| 0:55.2 | understand what makes this virus unique and pretty scary, how experts are working to contain it, |
| 1:00.6 | and why she says the risk to the general public is still very low. She also shares what would |
| 1:05.7 | change her level of concern and what we're waiting on right now before taking a big sigh of relief. |
| 1:13.5 | Welcome to the Newsworthy special edition Saturday when we sit down with a different expert |
| 1:17.7 | or celebrity every Saturday to talk about something in the news. Don't forget to tune in |
| 1:21.6 | every Monday through Friday for our regular episodes where we provide all the day's news in |
| 1:26.2 | less than 15 minutes. I'm Erica Mandy. |
| 1:28.4 | It's now time for today's special edition Saturday. |
| 1:33.6 | Dr. Caitlin, Jedalina, thank you so much for joining us here on The Newsworthy. |
| 1:37.4 | Thank you for having me. So before we get into all the facts, I'm curious to get your take just |
| 1:41.7 | on the rarity of this situation, because I know I've |
| 1:44.2 | heard you say that it would not be in what the top 100 outbreaks on a cruise ship you would |
| 1:48.3 | have expected. No, no, this is not something we would have expected in a long run, but this is |
... |
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