Possible Hantavirus Infection in Illinois Separate From Cruise Ship Cases, Exposure Tied to Rodent Droppings
Health officials in Illinois are investigating a possible hantavirus infection that authorities say is not connected to the deadly outbreak linked to the MV Hondius cruise ship.
Illinois officials say a possible hantavirus case is unrelated to the deadly MV Hondius cruise ship outbreak.
According to ABC7, the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) is monitoring a resident in Winnebago County, located northwest of Chicago. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is also testing the individual, with results expected within 10 days.
EPA
Officials said the person likely contracted the virus while cleaning a home containing rodent droppings. The patient did not require hospitalization, is not seriously ill, and is currently recovering at home, the IDPH confirmed.
Authorities emphasized that the case appears to involve the North American strain of hantavirus, which does not spread from person to person. Because of this, the IDPH said the risk to Illinois residents remains very low.
The strain differs from the Andes virus connected to the outbreak aboard the MV Hondius cruise ship. Unlike the North American strain, the Andes variant can spread between people.
The Dutch cruise vessel departed Ushuaia, Argentina, on April 1 with 147 passengers and crew members onboard. Since then, seven hantavirus cases have been confirmed, with three additional possible infections reported. Three of the 10 affected individuals have died.
Argentinian health authorities have reportedly identified Dutch ornithologist Leo Schilperoord, 70, as patient zero in the outbreak, though this has not been officially confirmed. Authorities believe he later transmitted the virus to his 69-year-old wife, Mirjam, who was traveling with him on the cruise. Both later died and were listed in their hometown newspaper’s obituary section.
The New York Post reported that the couple had spent five months traveling through South America before boarding the ship. On March 27, shortly before departure, they visited a landfill outside Ushuaia during a birdwatching tour. Authorities in Argentina believe the couple contracted the Andes strain there.
Leo reportedly developed symptoms including fever, headache, stomach pain, and diarrhea on April 6 before dying aboard the ship on April 11, according to Newsweek.
Mirjam stayed onboard until April 24, when she disembarked at Saint Helena while experiencing gastrointestinal symptoms.
“'She subsequently deteriorated during a flight to Johannesburg, South Africa, on 25 April. She later died upon arrival at the emergency department on 26 April,' the World Health Organization said.”
Another unidentified adult woman also died on May 2 after reportedly developing a fever on April 28.
The outbreak gained international attention after it was announced that passengers would disembark in Tenerife, the largest of Spain’s Canary Islands. Upon arrival, Spanish health authorities conducted screenings before passengers began returning to their home countries.
According to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), 18 Americans onboard returned to the United States on Monday. Two of them traveled inside the aircraft’s biocontainment units as a precautionary measure.
Sixteen passengers were transported to a quarantine facility in Omaha, Nebraska. One passenger tested “mildly” positive and has been isolated from the others. The remaining two Americans were taken to Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia.
Officials have not yet confirmed how long the passengers will remain isolated. However, authorities said asymptomatic individuals could eventually be permitted to quarantine at home.
During a press conference in Omaha on Monday, federal officials stressed that the situation should not be compared to another global pandemic.
“'Let me be crystal clear, the risk of hantavirus to the general public remains very, very low. The Andes variant of this virus does not spread easily, and it requires prolonged close contact with someone who is already symptomatic,' said Dr. Brian Christine, HHS' assistant secretary for health.”
World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also sought to reassure the public.
“'I know you are worried. I know that when you hear the word "outbreak" and watch a ship sail toward your shores, memories surface that none of us have fully put to rest,' Ghebreyesus said on Saturday. 'The pain of 2020 is still real, and I do not dismiss it for a single moment. But I need you to hear me clearly: this is not another COVID-19.'”
