Key Takeaway:
- Illinois has reported a suspected hantavirus case linked to rodent exposure, clarifying that it is not connected to the MV Hondius cruise ship hantavirus outbreak.
- North American hantavirus strains do not spread person to person, and the patient has mild symptoms.
- Global health officials say overall hantavirus risk remains low despite international cruise ship cases.
Illinois health officials reported that a Winnebago County resident may have contracted a North American strain of hantavirus through rodent exposure. On Tuesday, they confirmed the suspected case is unrelated to the recent hantavirus outbreak aboard the MV Hondius cruise ship.
Illinois Officials Say Case Linked To Rodent Exposure
The Illinois Department of Public Health announced Tuesday that a resident is being evaluated for hantavirus infection, but officials confirmed there is no connection to the international cruise ship hantavirus outbreak.
Health officials said the patient, who lives about 90 miles northwest of Chicago, likely contracted the virus while cleaning a home containing rodent droppings. The individual has not traveled internationally or interacted with any passengers from the MV Hondius.
“The risk of contracting hantavirus of any kind remains very low for Illinois residents,” the agency said in a statement.
Officials added that North American hantavirus strains are not known to spread from person to person, unlike the Andes strain associated with the cruise ship cases.
The patient is experiencing mild symptoms and has not been hospitalized. Laboratory confirmation could take up to 10 days, according to federal testing guidelines.
This suspected infection would mark the eighth hantavirus case reported in Illinois since 1993. Nationwide, the United States recorded 890 cases between 1993 and 2023.
Cruise Ship Outbreak Involves Different Virus Strain
Health authorities stressed that the Illinois case is distinct from the hantavirus outbreak tied to the Antarctic cruise vessel MV Hondius, where infections involve the Andes strain originating in South America.
The Andes virus is carried by the long-tailed pygmy rice rat, a species not found in the United States. According to the World Health Organization, the strain can spread between people through close and prolonged contact during the early phase of illness.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Tuesday that 11 hantavirus cases have been identified among passengers or crew linked to the cruise ship, including nine confirmed Andes infections.
“No one has died since May 2, when WHO was first informed of the cluster of cases,” Ghebreyesus said in a news release, adding that the global health risk remains low.
Several cruise ship passengers required hospitalization, unlike the Illinois patient, whose symptoms remain mild.
International Monitoring Continues As U.S. Passengers Observed
Three cruise ship passengers, a Dutch couple and a German national, have died during the outbreak, according to media reports. One infected traveler remains in intensive care in South Africa, while another passenger is listed in very critical condition in France.
U.S. health officials are monitoring 18 American passengers who returned from the voyage. A couple in Georgia is under observation at Emory University Hospital after one began showing symptoms.
Other returning travelers were transported to the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s Regional Emerging Special Pathogen Treatment Center in Omaha for monitoring and precautionary care.
Public health officials emphasized that hantavirus infections in North America usually occur after exposure to infected rodents or their waste, and they clarified that such cases are distinct from human transmission seen during a hantavirus outbreak.
State and federal agencies continue surveillance while awaiting laboratory confirmation of the Illinois case.
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