American passengers from the cruise ship at the center of the Hantavirus outbreak landed in the country Monday.
They’re being held at a quarantine center in Nebraska. A total of 16 passengers are there and asymptomatic. One is in a biocontainment unit for care, while the others are being monitored. Two others are in a containment unit at Emory University in Atlanta.
At least three people have died in the current outbreak.
With those American passengers now back on U.S. soil, many are asking what this virus is and how it actually spreads.
Hantavirus is rare in our region, but it has caused serious illness and death in Pennsylvania; the last known case was in 2022.
“The way you can get this is by coming in contact with rodent secretions, be it saliva, stool, or urine that gets aerosolized,” said Dr. Jeffrey Jahre.
St. Luke’s University Health Network doctor Jeffrey Jahre said that in the U.S., the virus is primarily carried by rodents such as deer mice, but the current cruise ship outbreak involves the Andes strain, a version that can spread between people.
“Now, is this a cause for major alarm? No, it is not,” said Jahre. “This is not going to be like Covid or a common cold. This requires very close contact and frequently over a fairly prolonged period of time.”
Jahre says the risk for local residents typically increases in the spring, as families open up summer homes or hunting lodges where rodents could have nested all winter.
Symptoms can take as little as four days or as long as eight weeks to appear, initially mirroring the flu and starting with fever, muscle aches and a cough. But the illness can rapidly progress.
“You can have shutdown of your vital organs, and most importantly, your lungs can fill up with fluid,” said Dr. Jahre. “In general, the mortality rate is close to 40%.”
Experts say prevention is the only real cure.
Never sweep or vacuum dry droppings. Instead, use a bleach solution to wet the area first. Always use protective gear such as gloves and a mask when handling dead rodents or droppings.