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A view of the San Quentin Rehabilitation Center in San Quentin, Calif., on Oct. 21, 2025.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Josh Edelson\/AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n
Officials at San Quentin Rehabilitation Center confirmed they are investigating a potential case of\u00a0hantavirus after an individual exhibited symptoms associated with the deadly respiratory disease.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Tests are being sent to the California Department of Public Health and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to confirm whether the person is infected with the rare virus.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Neither the condition of the individual nor their identity has been released yet. The facility where they are housed at the Bay Area prison has been decontaminated, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe health and safety of the incarcerated population and staff remain CDCR\u2019s top priority,\u201d department spokesperson Kyle Buis\u00a0said in a statement to SFGATE.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Hantavirus is a rare and extremely dangerous virus that has a fatality rate of around 35% in the U.S., according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, called hantavirus a \u201cstealth infection\u201d because early symptoms are often generic flu-like symptoms, including fever, sore throat and body aches.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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\u201cPeople think it\u2019s just a common viral infection,\u201d Schaffner told SFGATE. \u201c\u2026 They think they\u2019re going to get better in a day or so, and then this goes on for maybe two, three days, and then they can crash.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Advanced symptoms of disease can include fluid-filled lungs and a drop in platelets, leading to bleeding.\u00a0<\/p>\n
There\u2019s no vaccine and no cure other than supportive care.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In the U.S., hantavirus is transmitted via rodents like mice and rats that harbor the bacteria and can spread it via their feces and urine. Schaffner explained people can get sick if they breathe in aerosolized material from the rodents. Often, he said, people are sickened after finding the animals nesting in a home shed or garage.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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\u201cThey\u2019re actually cleaning it up, and that\u2019s when the exposure often occurs,\u201d Schaffner explained.<\/p>\n
Recently, an outbreak of the Andes strain of the virus aboard<\/a> a cruise ship in the Atlantic Ocean made international headlines after eight people were infected and three died. That rare strain is the only known hantavirus to spread person to person, but it is not native to the U.S.\u00a0<\/p>\n In the U.S., the disease is most\u00a0common<\/a> in Western states, with Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico reporting the highest number of cases. Mammoth Lakes, a mountain town in California\u2019s Eastern Sierra, saw an unprecedented hantavirus outbreak<\/a> in 2025 that killed three people.\u00a0<\/p>\n Stay informed, and entertained.<\/p>\n By signing up, you agree to our Terms Of Use<\/a> and acknowledge that your information will be used as described in our Privacy Policy<\/a>.<\/p>\n Dr. Monica Gandhi, an infectious disease expert at UC San Francisco, said that the cruise ship outbreak is unlikely to be involved in this potential case since all passengers returned to the U.S. were monitored<\/a> for 42 days to ensure they did not develop the disease.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n![\"image\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1779025990_965_rawImage.jpg\" "\\"#\\"")
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