90-Second Read: Hantavirus fears heighten with 4 Californians exposed to the disease. Is the alarm warranted?

Now, six years later, public fears have surrounded another type of virus that has killed and sickened passengers on a Dutch-flagged cruise ship, including four Californians who were exposed to the virus and recently returned to the United States. While officials and infectious disease experts have been quick to note the seriousness of the rodent-borne disease, they have also stressed key differences between Hantavirus and COVID-19. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials said 38% of people who develop respiratory symptoms from Hantavirus may die from the disease. In the early weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic, health officials struggled to impress upon the public the grave risks associated with the disease, as well as how easily it could spread. On Monday the California Department of Public Health said during a.

That brings the total number of cases of Hantavirus to nine, seven laboratory confirmed and two probable cause, including three deaths. It's not a reflection of [the virus] being extremely contagious." In the U.S., Hantavirus cases occur year-round and are transmitted via the urine, feces and saliva of wild rodents. The Hantavirus outbreak is rare but it's not unusual for a viral outbreak to occur in a cruise ship, where people are packed in and close to each other, said Dr. As of now, all four individuals lack symptoms and appear healthy, according to Dr. Nicole Iovine, chief medical epidemiologist and an infectious disease expert at the University of Florida Shands Hospital.

Infectious disease experts break down the potential risk. This time however, officials are taking a very different approach to messaging surrounding the deadly Andes virus, a type of Hantavirus. Public alarm over the illness began to grow following reports that three passengers died aboard the stricken vessel, MV Hondius. Pegan acknowledged it's confusing to the public when a health incident like this occurs because "they hear 'this is a really bad disease.'" "At certain levels, we should worry about it because we don't want to be interfacing with this virus. Erica Pan, director of the California Department of Public Health.

Even though this is not an easily transmitted disease, it is transmissible and has a high mortality rate, Iovine said. Unlike other infectious respiratory illnesses, Hantavirus "infects cells very deep in the lungs, so it's not as easily transmitted then when someone is speaking or coughing. This person was reported to our department last week and is being monitored by the local public health department where they live. The individuals in Nebraska are undergoing a health assessment, and federal authorities will determine when they can return to California. The Andes virus, a strain of the disease that's endemic to Argentina, similarly passes from the exposure of wild rodent particles.