90-Second Read: New Jersey says two residents were 'potentially exposed' to Hantavirus on an airplane

Two New Jersey residents may have been exposed to a person infected with Hantavirus, state health officials said Friday. Neither of the New Jersey residents has Hantavirus symptoms, the state Department of Health said in a news release. Health officials have confirmed at least five Hantavirus cases connected to the cruise ship outbreak, and three people have died. New Jersey has never had a confirmed Hantavirus case, they said.

State health officials did not specify whether the New Jersey residents were on the same plane, saying only that they were not traveling on the cruise ship. Hantavirus can incubate from four to 42 days, but people without symptoms are not considered contagious, state health officials said. There are no vaccines to protect against Hantavirus, and no licensed antiviral treatments that specifically target the virus, according to the World Health Organization. The department declined to release other details about the travelers to protect their privacy.

State officials said the risk to the general public was low. Hantavirus typically spreads through droppings from infected rodents like mice and rats, not from person to person. Andes virus, the strain detected aboard the MV Hondius, is the only known Hantavirus that can spread from person to person through prolonged contact with an infected person. Still, Sweet said, Hantavirus is far less contagious than other respiratory illnesses like flu, COVID-19, and measles.

West spreads this way, said Thersa Sweet, a teaching professor of epidemiology at Drexel University. It originates in South America and is usually spread by rodents. Medical care can help manage respiratory, cardiac, and kidney complications, and it's crucial for patients with serious symptoms to be admitted to intensive care early.