90-Second Read: How concerned should Seattle cruise passengers be about Hantavirus?

Public Health, Seattle & King County echoed that assessment in a recent public advisory, calling the risk to residents "very low" and noting there have been only six confirmed Hantavirus cases in King County since 1997. Globally, health officials continue monitoring passengers connected to the MV Hondius outbreak, while public health agencies track potential exposures and conduct contact tracing. Greninger said Hantaviruses have been studied for decades, unlike the novel coronavirus that emerged in 2020, and health officials already understand how the virus is typically transmitted and contained. The county also warned that deer mice can carry Hantavirus in wooded rural and suburban settings, including cabins, garages, sheds, and vehicles. We're here to enjoy ourselves and just relax and enjoy another adventure." McKenzie said the Hantavirus news was not weighing.

The outbreak, tied to Andes virus cases connected to the cruise ship MV Hondius, has prompted comparisons to the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. Greninger explained that Washington state already has its own form of Hantavirus, known as Sin Nombre virus, which is typically spread through exposure to rodent droppings or urine, often in cabins, sheds, or rural areas. The Andes virus involved in the cruise ship outbreak is different because it has shown a limited ability to spread between people under close-contact conditions, something not documented with the strain commonly found in the western United States. We can unpack and leave everything," said Rhonda McKenzie, visiting from Melbourne, Australia. People are analogizing to COVID, and this virus does not historically act like COVID or another coronavirus.

But infectious disease experts and local public health officials say the similarities largely stop there. Alex Greninger, head of the Division of Infectious Disease Diagnostics at the University of Washington Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, said Hantaviruses behave very differently from coronaviruses. We're not talking about Buenos Aires hospitals being overrun or lots of people having unexplained respiratory symptoms. I brought a lot of masks," said Mary Dobson as she prepared to board the ship for the 21-day cruise. They can be picked up by people, usually directly from rodents, either by inhaling particles from droppings or exposure to rodent urine.

Other passengers said the headlines had at least made them more cautious. For now, experts say awareness, not panic, is the appropriate response. Still, Greninger said the virus has not shown the kind of rapid transmission seen during the coronavirus pandemic. Dobson said cruising still offered an appealing escape. You don't have to shop, you don't have to cook, you don't have to clean.