90-Second Read: Sacramento County resident may have been exposed to Hantavirus on a plane, health official says

A resident from Sacramento County is being monitored at home after being briefly exposed to a person on a plane in South Africa who later died of Andes Hantavirus, California's top public health official said on Monday. A resident from Sacramento County may have been exposed to Andes Hantavirus on a plane in South Africa after sitting near a woman who later died, California's top public health official said on Monday. The resident is one of two California residents who is being monitored at home by local health officials after being exposed to the virus, Pan said. The person from Sacramento County was sitting within two seats in front or behind of the Dutch woman who was removed from a flight before takeoff from Johannesburg, California Department of Public Health.

None of the California residents have tested positive for Hantavirus or have any symptoms, Pan said, adding that all are healthy. Three people have died so far as part of the outbreak and at least six others with confirmed or suspected Hantavirus cases are being quarantined, The Associated Press reported on Monday. Argentina's health ministry said there were 28 deaths from Hantavirus last year, up from an average mortality rate of 15 in the five years before that. That includes two other California residents were were among the 16 American cruise ship travelers who were taken to the University of Nebraska Medical Center to be monitored after their ship docked in the Canary Islands. The newest cases included a French woman who tested positive and was being treated at a.

In all, four California residents have been exposed to the virus, Pan said. People can become infected by Hantavirus from contact with rodents like rats and mice, especially when exposed to their urine, droppings and saliva, according to the CDC. The Andes virus is the only type of Hantavirus that is known to spread person-to-person. Symptoms for Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome can show up one to eight weeks after contact with an infected rodent. The other person was a passenger on the MV Hondius cruise ship who is from Santa Clara.

None were from Andes Hantavirus, which is found in the southern Andes region of Argentina and Chile. Instead, the California cases were all from Sin Nombre Hantavirus, which is not associated with person-to-person contact as Andes Hantavirus can be. She stressed that the risk to the general public is extremely low. According to the CDC, early symptoms include fatigue, fever and muscle aches. The CDC says that 38% of people who develop respiratory symptoms may die from the disease.