Wisconsin health officials said the public faces low hantavirus risk and does not need to take any action after U.S. passengers from the MV Hondius were dispersed to facilities nationwide for monitoring.
Eight people were infected and three died aboard the cruise ship, but officials said the Andes virus outbreak was tied to a specific voyage from Argentina and likely began with an infected passenger.
Andes virus is the only hantavirus known to spread person to person, yet officials said transmission requires prolonged close contact, limiting broader public risk.
Wisconsin does have Sin Nombre virus, a different hantavirus spread through deer mice and their waste; prevention centers on rodent control and careful cleanup of droppings.
The state last saw a hantavirus-linked cluster in 2017, when three Wisconsin residents caught Seoul virus in a pet-rat outbreak and all recovered.
A virus that kills 1 in 3 is now on US soil. Are current quarantine protocols enough to contain it?
The Hondius was a viral incubator. What will stop the next cruise ship from becoming one?