{"id":284417,"date":"2026-05-08T13:34:08","date_gmt":"2026-05-08T13:34:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/284417\/"},"modified":"2026-05-08T13:34:08","modified_gmt":"2026-05-08T13:34:08","slug":"is-hantavirus-in-texas-cruise-ship-outbreak-sparks-concerns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/284417\/","title":{"rendered":"Is hantavirus in Texas? Cruise ship outbreak sparks concerns"},"content":{"rendered":"

Concerns about hantavirus cases in Texas are growing after two passengers aboard the cruise ship<\/a> that experienced an outbreak were from the Lone Star State.<\/p>\n

The two people had left the ship and returned to the U.S. before the outbreak was identified, USA TODAY previously reported. The Department of Health and Human Services said it would not release personal details about the passengers to protect their privacy, but said they are not experiencing any symptoms and did not have any contact with a sick person while aboard the ship.<\/p>\n

In Texas, hantavirus is rare, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Less than 50 cases have been reported in the state since the CDC began surveilling hantavirus cases in 1993.<\/p>\n

Here’s what to know about hantavirus in Texas.<\/p>\n

Is hantavirus in Texas?<\/p>\n

While hantavirus is present in Texas, the number of people who contract it is extremely low, according to the CDC.<\/p>\n

Texas has not had a reported case since 2021, and overall, the state has had 49 cases between 1993 and 2023 and less than half \u2014 14 of those cases resulted in death.<\/p>\n

Across the United States, there have been 890 cases\u00a0of hantavirus between 1993 and 2023, the CDC reports.<\/p>\n

\"Texas<\/p>\n

Texas has not had a reported case since 2021 and overall, the state has had 49 cases since 1993, according to the CDC.<\/p>\n

What states have hantavirus?<\/p>\n

New Mexico, Arizona and Colorado appear to have the most reported hantavirus cases in the United States, according to CDC data.<\/p>\n

New Mexico has had the most cases with 129 reported hantavirus cases from 1993-2023.<\/p>\n

What is hantavirus?<\/p>\n

Hantaviruses can infect and cause serious disease in people worldwide, according to the Centers for Disease Control. People contract hantavirus through contact with rodents such as rats and mice, especially when exposed to their urine, droppings, and saliva. It can also spread through a bite or scratch from a rodent, but this is rare.<\/p>\n

How is hantavirus spread between humans?<\/p>\n

Human-to-human transmission has been documented only for\u00a0the Andes\u00a0virus in the Americas and remains uncommon, according to the WHO.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Andes\u00a0virus is the strain confirmed on the cruise ship, USA TODAY reported.<\/p>\n

When it occurs, transmission between people has been associated with close and prolonged contact, particularly among household members or intimate partners, and appears most likely during the early phase of illness, when the virus is more transmissible, the WHO states.<\/p>\n

Hantavirus symptoms<\/p>\n

Symptoms can include:<\/p>\n

abdominal problems, like nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal pain<\/p>\n

How to prevent hantavirus<\/p>\n

You can eliminate or minimize contact with rodents in your home, workplace, or campsite to reduce your risk of hantavirus exposure, according to the CDC.\u00a0Seal holes and gaps in your home\u00a0or garage to keep rodents from entering. Place traps in and around your home to decrease rodent infestation. Clean up any easy-to-get food that might attract rodents.<\/p>\n

Natassia Paloma may be reached at\u00a0npaloma@gannett.com<\/a>, @NatassiaPaloma on x; natassia_paloma on Instagram, and Natassia Paloma Thompson on Facebook.<\/p>\n

More: AG Paxton investigating El Paso, Texas schools on Ten Commandments law<\/a><\/p>\n

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Is hantavirus spreading? What to know about hantavirus in Texas<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Concerns about hantavirus cases in Texas are growing after two passengers aboard the cruise ship that experienced an…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":284418,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[104358,27,29,28],"class_list":["post-284417","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-texas","tag-hantavirus","tag-texas","tag-texas-headlines","tag-texas-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284417","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=284417"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284417\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/284418"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=284417"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=284417"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=284417"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}