RICHMOND, Va. — A Virginia traveler has returned home from the MV Hondious, a cruise ship where a rare rodent-borne illness called hantavirus has left three passengers dead and sickened others.
The traveler is currently in good health and under public health monitoring, according to a spokesperson for the Virginia Department of Health (VDH).
VDH said up to five other Virginians may have been exposed and could be identified in the days ahead. However, officials believe the risk to the general public is low.
VDH said they are monitoring the situation closely and are in communication with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Fewer than 30 United States citizens were on board the ship, according to VDH.
Health
Several states monitoring former cruise ship passengers for hantavirus
Global health officials say the risk to the general public remains low because the germ does not easily spread between people.
“This is not the next COVID, but it is a serious infectious disease,” said Maria Van Kerkhove, director of epidemic and pandemic preparedness at the World Health Organization. “Most people will never be exposed to this.”
The virus usually spreads when people inhale contaminated residue of rodent droppings. Hantaviruses have been around for centuries and are thought to exist around the world.
The disease gained renewed attention last year after the late actor Gene Hackman ’s wife, Betsy Arakawa, died from a hantavirus infection in New Mexico.
This outbreak may have come from Argentina
Detailed investigations of the cruise ship outbreak are ongoing, notably to determine its source.
Investigators in Argentina suspect that the cases were initially contracted during a birdwatching trip in Ushuaia, at the country’s southern tip, two officials told AP.
Argentina has seen a surge of hantavirus cases that many local public health researchers attribute to climate change.
Officials have found evidence of Andes virus, a version of hantavirus found in South America.
The virus is spread by rodents and, more rarely, people
Hantavirus is mainly spread by contact with rodents or their urine, saliva or droppings, particularly when the material is disturbed and becomes airborne, posing a risk of inhalation.
People are typically exposed to hantavirus around their homes, cabins or sheds, especially when cleaning enclosed spaces with little ventilation or exploring areas with mouse droppings.
Scientists are still trying to learn exactly how the Andes virus may be able to spread between people, said Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo, chief executive officer of the Infectious Diseases Society of America. They suspect people could be infectious when they have symptoms, and, if the virus spreads, it may be transmitted through small liquid particles that blow out of an infected person when they talk, cough or sneeze.
The illness starts with flu-like symptoms
An infection can rapidly progress and become life-threatening. Experts say it can start with symptoms including fever, chills, muscle aches and maybe a headache — much like the flu.
Symptoms of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome usually show between one and eight weeks after contact with an infected rodent. As the infection progresses, patients might experience tightness in the chest, as the lungs fill with fluid.
The other syndrome caused by hantavirus — known as hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome, which can cause bleeding, high fever, and kidney failure — usually develops within a week or two after exposure.
Death rates vary by which hantavirus causes the illness. Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome is fatal in about 35% of people infected, while the death rate for hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome varies from 1% to 15% of patients, according to the CDC.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
This is a developing story. Email the CBS 6 Newsroom if you have additional information to share.
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