Could Nationalism Have Two Sides?

Two New Jersey residents are being monitored closely after they were possibly exposed to a form of hantavirus that recently caused a deadly outbreak of the disease on an international cruise ship, the New Jersey Department of Health said Friday.

The Garden State residents are not currently showing symptoms of illness and were not passengers on the cruise ship MV Hondius, where several people were infected and three died, New Jersey health officials said. Rather, the pair were exposed to someone who had been on the cruise, according to the department.

Several international travelers on board the cruise ship, now off the coast of West Africa, have been infected with a particular strain of hantavirus known as the Andes virus, according to the World Health Organization, which was first notified of the outbreak on May 2. While some are isolating onboard, others have already disembarked, according to NPR.

Hantaviruses — a family of viruses that can cause severe pulmonary disease with flu-like symptoms — are most commonly transmitted to humans by rodents, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Andes virus, however, is the one type of hantavirus that is also known to spread from person to person, according to the CDC.

“At this time, the risk to the general public in New Jersey remains very low,” the New Jersey health department said in a statement. “No current hantavirus cases have been identified in the state, and there is no history of a confirmed hantavirus case reported in New Jersey.”

New York City Health Commissioner Alister Martin said he has not been notified of any residents of the five boroughs who were exposed to the virus, but added, “this is an evolving situation that we’re monitoring in close communication with other health agencies.”

In New York state, only six hantavirus infections were recorded statewide between 1995 and 2023, according to the New York state Department of Health.

Here’s what to know now about the virus.

What do we know about the current outbreak?

As of May 7, eight cases of the Andes virus linked to the cruise ship outbreak have been confirmed and three people have died, according to the World Health Organization.

After being notified of the infections, WHO said it deployed an expert to the ship to help assess all passengers and crew. WHO has also sent 2,500 diagnostic testing kits to multiple countries to help test for the Andes virus, which is typically seen in Chile and Argentina.

Argentinian health authorities are investigating the theory that a Dutch couple brought the Andes virus onto the cruise ship after contracting it from a rodent in a town called Ushuaia at the southern tip of Argentina, according to NPR.

What are the symptoms of Andes virus?

According to the CDC, symptoms of the Andes virus are flu-like and can include a headache, muscle aches, a fever, nausea and vomiting, a cough, chest pain and difficulty breathing. These symptoms can appear anywhere from four to 42 days after exposure.

Hantavirus, in general, is typically diagnosed through discussing possible exposures with a medical provider, since symptoms can appear similar to other illnesses, according to the New York state Department of Health.

How is hantavirus spread and how can I avoid exposure?

Hantaviruses can be carried in rodent droppings, saliva or urine and then inhaled by humans — creating a risk for anyone entering a poorly ventilated building with a rodent infestation, according to the New York state health department.

While New York City has its fair share of rodents, most cases of hantavirus in the United States have been found west of the Mississippi River, according to the New York state Department of Health. The Andes virus, in particular, is not found in rodents in the United States, according to the CDC.

According to the state health department, the best way to prevent exposure to hantavirus is to avoid contact with live or dead rodents as well as their droppings and urine and to avoid disturbing any rodent burrows or nests.

How is the Andes virus transmitted from person to person?

Since outbreaks of the Andes virus are rare and it’s the only hantavirus known to be transmitted from person to person, it’s still not fully understood how the virus spreads among humans, said Dr. Kartik Chandran, a professor of  microbiology and immunology at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

“The most likely way the virus spreads is through oral secretions such as saliva,” Chandran said.

But whether it typically spreads through direct contact with a person’s saliva or through droplets in the air “is not so clear at the moment,” Chandran said.

He added that past studies suggest it spreads among people with “very close contact.”

So is the Andes virus likely to become the next COVID-19?

It seems the Andes virus is not very contagious, considering how rarely it has caused outbreaks in the past, Chandran said.

”One would imagine that with the proper precautions and contact  tracing and isolation [of those exposed to the virus], one should be able to control it,” Chandran said.

But he added that it can be hard to predict when a transmission event will allow a virus to take hold and spread in a way that hasn’t been seen before.

Is there a treatment or cure?

According to the CDC, there is no specific antiviral treatment or vaccine for the Andes virus. But the New York state Department of Health says early medical care to address the symptoms is crucial, and that anyone suspected of having hantavirus should be taken to an emergency room or intensive care unit immediately for close monitoring.

Chandran said he and others in his field have been developing monoclonal antibody treatments for hantavirus that he believes are ready for clinical testing.

Good Friday afternoon in New York City, where $73 will get you into this Radiohead "experience."

Here's what else is happening:

• Elmhurst locals want the MTA to reopen the neighborhood's old Long Island Rail Road stop.
• Andrew Giuliani, the head of the White House Task Force on the 2026 World Cup, defended FIFA's decision to charge more than $1,000 for tickets to the U.S. team's opening match, arguing "we don't really believe in price controls."
• They're saying the New York state comptroller's race is getting spicy.
• We're getting a Manhattan outpost of a Japanese sushi conveyor belt chain.
• I'd eat one of these skinny burritos.
• These run clubs are doing it the Ethiopian way.
• The new Lykke Li album is fantastic.
• And finally, ticklish:

A Brooklyn jury convicted an 87-year-old of killing and dismembering a woman in an East New York apartment, the district attorney’s office announced Friday. The defendant, Harvey Marcelin, was on parole at the time after being convicted of two other killings.

Jurors found Marcelin guilty of first-degree murder, tampering with evidence and concealing a human corpse, prosecutors said. They returned the verdict after one hour of deliberations, according to the Brooklyn district attorney's office.

Marcelin faces up to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Sentencing is scheduled for next month.

“This conviction holds the defendant accountable for the cruel and reprehensible murder of Susan Leyden,” Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said in a statement. “Following the senseless murder, the defendant desecrated the victim’s remains in a manner that truly shocks the conscience. I hope Ms. Leyden’s family finds a measure of solace in this guilty verdict, which ensures this defendant will never walk free again.”

The case made headlines at the time, as Leyden’s body parts were discovered and information came to light about Marcelin’s past convictions. The killing was also featured on an episode of the True Crime NYC TV show and various true crime podcasts.

Prosecutors said surveillance footage shows Leyden, 68, entering Marcelin’s apartment on Feb. 27, 2022. But she was never seen leaving alive.

Additional video footage shows Marcelin wheeling around a shopping bag in which Leyden’s torso was later found, according to the DA’s office. Prosecutors said investigators later discovered the woman’s head and limbs in Marcelin’s apartment, as well as blood, cleaning supplies, a hammer and the box for an electric saw.

Leyden’s legs turned up in a nearby garbage can several days later, the DA’s office said.

The medical examiner’s office determined that Leyden suffered blunt force trauma to her head and other injuries. Prosecutors said Marcelin and Leyden both lived in the same shelter in the Bronx in 2019, but that questions remained about the nature of their relationship.

Marcelin was convicted of first-degree murder in a separate case in Manhattan in 1963, according to prosecutors. In that case, Marcelin fatally shot their then-girlfriend in a Harlem apartment building, The New York Times reported. Marcelin was released on parole in 1984 and stabbed another woman to death less than a year later, according to The Times.

Marcelin’s defense attorney declined to comment.

This story has been updated with additional information.