90-Second Read: 4 California residents were exposed to Hantavirus, officials say

Four Californians were exposed to the Andes strain of the Hantavirus and are being monitored by public health officials, the California Department of Public Health announced Monday, May 11. Out of the four people exposed, two of the residents were on the MV Hondius cruise ship and are currently being quarantined in Nebraska with the other Americans who were evacuated and returned stateside, according Erica Pan, the director and state public health officer for CDPH. Pan noted that although these two Californians were exposed to the Hantavirus, they were allowed to return to California since neither resident was showing symptomatic behaviors. The other two people exposed to the virus are currently being monitored by the Santa Clara and Sacramento counties' public health departments, according to Pan. The Santa Clara County.

Pan noted that the Sacramento County resident was briefly exposed to the virus by a passenger from the ship while traveling on an aircraft in South Africa. Hantavirus infections are relatively uncommon globally," according to the World Health Organization. The WHO has said it believes the Hantavirus outbreak stemmed from a Dutch couple on board the MV Hondius who both later died from their infections. The CDPH did not release the counties of origin of these two people being quarantined. The resident sat within two seats of an ill patient for at least 15 minutes, according to Pan.

Hantavirus typically spreads through contact with the urine, feces, or saliva of infected rodents, and human-to-human transmission is uncommon. The strain at the center of the outbreak has been confirmed as the Andes virus, which is believed to spread person-to-person, according to the World Health Organization. Since its departure, three people, a Dutch couple and a German national, have died in the outbreak, according to health officials. The couple's bird-watching trip included visits to sites where "the species of rat that's known to carry Hantavirus was present. Exposure typically occurs during activities such as cleaning buildings with rodent infestations, though it may also occur during routine activities in heavily infested areas," according to the World Health Organization.

The Sacramento County resident was quickly removed from the flight after it was determined that they had been exposed. The resident has since returned to Sacramento County and is being monitored for symptoms. Symptoms typically appear between two and four weeks after initial exposure. The extent of passenger contact with local wildlife during the voyage, or prior to boarding in Ushuaia, remains undetermined. Maria Van Kerkhove, director of WHO's department of epidemic and pandemic management, said at a May 5 briefing that the MV Hondius also stopped at many islands up the coast of Africa where others may have come in contact with the virus.