90-Second Read: Suspected case of Hantavirus in Ontario County on Thursday

Ontario County Public Health (OCPH) said it's investigating a possible case of locally-acquired Hantavirus. The possible Hantavirus case in Ontario County is not transferable from person to person, only from rodent droppings to a person. Human Hantavirus infections are uncommon, with only a few cases since reporting became mandatory in 1995.

OCPH says there's no connection to the current cruise ship infections, and no risk to the general public. Symptoms range from mild to severe, with the virus being transmitted via mice and rodent droppings, infected urine, feces, and saliva. Officials say the strain in Ontario County is not the same as the one found on the cruise ship.

If you're going to develop really severe symptoms from it, like that really bad pneumonia, that's usually within the first couple of weeks. So, we feel pretty confident that that's not gonna happen, that it will remain a mild case. Chores such as cleaning, washing, sweeping, and vacuuming can lead to exposure to humans.