90-Second Read: Test finds patient in Winnebago County, Illinois, did not have Hantavirus, officials say

Test finds patient in Winnebago County did not have Hantavirus, officials say A person suspected of having Hantavirus in Winnebago County, Illinois, turned out to be a false alarm, officials said Monday. The Illinois Department of Public Health said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention conducted a confirmatory test on the person with the suspected case of Hantavirus in the county, far northwest of Chicago. Hantavirus has been in the headlines eve since a deadly cruise ship outbreak, to which Illinois officials from the beginning said the suspected case in Winnebago County was not related. The resident is no longer considered a potential Hantavirus case, and no further public health action is necessary in this case, the department said.

IDPH said the suspected patient was a resident of Winnebago County, close to the Rockford area, who had not traveled internationally and had not had any contact with any of the cruise ship passengers. Before finding the patient did not have Hantavirus, officials believed the person had contracted the virus in a home with rodent droppings. The strain the Illinois resident was thought to have contracted was the North American strain of Hantavirus, which is not spread from person to person, unlike the Andes strain associated with the cruise ship MV Hondius outbreak. The outbreak on the ship has reached at least 11 cases, nine of which have been confirmed.

It turned out the person did not have Hantavirus after all, the department said. Three people aboard the MV Hondius died from Hantavirus. This figure included a Dutch couple who health officials believe were the first exposed to the virus, while visiting South America. The best way to protect yourself from Hantavirus and other rodent-borne diseases is by keeping rodents out of your home and cleaning up after them safely.

Eighteen Americans are currently under observation at specialized healthcare facilities in the United States designed to treat people with dangerous infectious diseases. The MV Hondius reached the Dutch port of Rotterdam Monday morning, while carrying 25 crew members and two medical personnel, after all the passengers disembarked elsewhere.