90-Second Read: Another Californian was exposed to Hantavirus in deadly cruise ship outbreak, officials announce

Health officials have identified a fifth California resident who was exposed to the Hantavirus strain that spread on a Dutch cruise ship and killed three people. The MV Hondius was the epicenter of the first-ever deadly outbreak of Hantavirus aboard a modern cruise ship. Among the cruise ship's passengers, there have been 11 confirmed cases of the Andes virus, a strain of Hantavirus that's transmitted from person to person, and three of those cases have been fatal, according to the World Health Organization.

This brings the total count of exposed Golden State residents to five, all of whom are currently asymptomatic, according to the California Department of Public Health. The newly identified passenger disembarked the MV Hondius cruise ship before the outbreak was known, returned briefly to California and then once again traveled abroad. The individual's health is being monitored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as well as British health officials as the islands are a British Overseas Territory.

It can lead to the development of Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome, a disease that attacks the lungs and is fatal in nearly 40% of people infected, according to the CDC. The cruise ship set off on its journey around the Pacific from Argentina on April 1, and the first infected passengers died on board on April 11. Two of the exposed Californians are quarantined at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha.