90-Second Read: Possible Hantavirus case in Winnebago County not linked to cruise ship outbreak

The Illinois Department of Public Health said Tuesday it is investigating a possible Hantavirus case in a resident that is not connected to a widespread... In a press briefing Monday, CDC Head of Hantavirus Response David Fitter said that the strain of Hantavirus identified on a luxury cruise ship was very low risk of becoming a wider public health emergency. In a statement, IDPH said the individual, a Winnebago County resident, hasn't traveled internationally or had contact with passengers of the MV Hondius cruise ship. The cruise ship outbreak involves the Andes strain of the virus, which is carried by a rodent species not found in the United States.

Outside the potential case in Illinois, the state has had seven positive cases of Hantavirus since 1993, most recently in March 2025. Hantavirus is harder to get than COVID-19, though potentially more dangerous once someone is sick. COVID-19 spreads much more easily than Hantavirus, sometimes even from people who are symptom-free, which made the virus extremely difficult to contain when the pandemic broke out in 2020. New Mexico and Arizona are hot spots, likely because the odds are greater for mouse-human encounters in rural areas.

Health officials said the person may have been exposed to the North American strain of the virus while cleaning a home where rodent droppings were present. The Andes virus can spread from person to person through close contact, in rare cases. According to IDPH, the resident is not seriously ill, is recovering after experiencing mild symptoms and didn't require hospitalization. Hantaviruses found in the Western Hemisphere can cause Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, according to the CDC.