90-Second Read: Santa Clara resident monitored after returning home from Hantavirus-stricken ship

A Santa Clara resident is being monitored by local health officials after they returned home after being exposed to Andes Hantavirus as a passenger on the MV Hondius cruise ship. The person is at home, feeling well and reporting no symptoms of Hantavirus at this time, Santa Clara's public health department said on Monday. 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. CDPH said California was assisting with the national response to the cruise ship outbreak by fast-tracking clinical testing capacity for Andes Hantavirus samples at its Viral and Rickettsial Disease Laboratory.

Symptoms for Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome can show up one to eight weeks after contact with an infected rodent. CDPH stresses that transmission of Andes Hantavirus has come after "close, prolonged contact with an ill infected person." CDPH said there have been 99 California residents who have been diagnosed with Hantavirus, from 1980 to 2025. Instead, the California cases were all from Sin Nombre Hantavirus, which is not associated with person-to-person contact as Andes Hantavirus can be. California health officials have stressed that everyone they have identified as being possibly exposed is healthy.

One of them had mild symptoms and would be tested for Hantavirus. 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. None were from Andes Hantavirus, which is found in the southern Andes region of Argentina and Chile.

States that previously said they were monitoring seven passengers who previously disembarked include California, Arizona, Georgia, Texas and Virginia. The CDC says that 38% of people who develop respiratory symptoms may die from the disease. About half of patients also experience headaches, dizziness, chills and abdominal problems.