90-Second Read: San Quentin’s suspected Hantavirus case a false positive, additional tests show

A San Quentin inmate who officials initially suspected may have had Hantavirus turned out to be uninfected. A San Quentin Rehabilitation Center inmate initially suspected of having Hantavirus was not infected, state testing shows. Hantavirus affects the lungs and in the most serious cases can cause fluid buildup in the lungs and respiratory failure.

The inmate of the Marin County prison was tested last week after showing symptoms of Hantavirus, a rare but deadly disease that typically spreads to humans from rodents. The Andes strain was behind the outbreak aboard the cruise ship MV Hondius last month that led to three deaths and 10 other infections. Five Californians were exposed in that outbreak because they were either passengers on the cruise ship or exposed to someone who was a passenger.

The monitoring period for most of the Californians has ended with no one showing Hantavirus symptoms, according to the state public health department. As of June 11, two asymptomatic Californians must still be monitored for an additional two weeks. That test, which was performed by a commercial lab and looked for the presence of viral antibodies, showed a positive result.