90-Second Read: Hantavirus exposure confirmed north and south of Stockton

California health officials have confirmed four residents were recently exposed to the Andes strain of the Hantavirus in two regions that sit on either side of Stockton and the greater San Joaquin County corridor. 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. 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. 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.

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. Human cases are most common in rural settings, "such as forests, fields and farms, where rodents are present, and opportunities for exposure are greater. The resident sat within two seats of an ill patient for at least 15 minutes, according to Pan. The resident has since returned to Sacramento County and is being monitored for symptoms.

The four exposed Californians are being monitored by public health officials, the California Department of Public Health announced Monday, May 11. The other two people exposed to the virus are being monitored by Santa Clara and Sacramento counties' public health departments, Pan said. 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 couple's bird-watching trip included visits to sites where "the species of rat that's known to carry Hantavirus was present. For local updates, residents can monitor San Joaquin County Public Health.

Symptoms typically appear between two and four weeks after initial exposure. Since its departure, three people, a Dutch couple and a German national, have died in the outbreak, according to health officials. California officials did not release the counties of origin of these two people being quarantined. 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.