90-Second Read: California monitoring 4 residents possibly exposed to Hantavirus

Four California residents who were possibly exposed to the deadly Hantavirus outbreak linked to a cruise ship were being monitored, state health officials said Monday, while emphasizing the risk to the general public remains extremely low. We continue to work with federal and local officials to monitor the health of potentially exposed individuals and prepare for our Californians to come home.'' Last week, federal authorities confirmed three California residents were aboard the cruise ship. From 1980 to 2025, 99 California residents have been diagnosed with Sin Nombre Hantavirus infection, according to the CDPH. State Public Health Officer Erica Pan, director of the California Department of Public Health, said three of those people were aboard the cruise ship MV Hondius, while the fourth individual was exposed during a commercial flight that.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notified state officials of an additional contact now under active monitoring due to potential exposure with a confirmed case on a shared flight. The Andes Hantavirus identified in the cruise ship outbreak is found in the southern Andes region of Argentina and Chile, according to state health officials. Andes Hantavirus is different from the Sin Nombre Hantavirus, which is native to California and North America. She acknowledged the Hantavirus outbreak harkens back to the coronavirus, but emphasized there are key differences. Pan said there have been decades of experience studying and responding to Hantavirus in South America, whereas COVID-19 was a brand new virus that everyone was learning about rapidly.

Hantavirus is more common than people may think, according to Dr. Decades of experience in South America have shown that this Andes Hantavirus rarely spreads between people. If any exposed individual develops symptoms consistent with infection, California has the capability to test in the state, Pan noted. Hantavirus is a group of viruses that spread through the urine, droppings (feces), and saliva of wild rodents. Those at the federal facility are expected to return to California once health assessments are done and arrangements have been made to protect their and the public's health.

Hantaviruses include both the Sin Nombre and Andes virus strains. Andes Hantavirus has also been associated with rare human-to-human transmission after close, prolonged contact with an ill infected person. If you are a contact and you are flying and you have no symptoms, you are not infected and you are not infecting anyone else,'' Pan said. Sin Nombre Hantavirus has not been associated with person-to-person transmission. There is no antiviral treatment for Hantavirus and HPS typically needs aggressive critical medical supportive care.