90-Second Read: Three people under observation at KU Hospital for Hantavirus released

Three people who were exposed to Hantavirus and taken to the University of Kansas Hospital in Kansas City, Kansas, for observation have been released. Those individuals were discharged on Thursday, May 21, from KU Hospital, where they had been under observation since May 13 as a precautionary measure. There are still no confirmed cases of the Andes Hantavirus in Kansas, KDHE said, and the risk to the general public from the Andes virus remains extremely low.

According to KDHE, the exposure took place internationally after contact was made with an individual who had contracted the virus on the MV Hondius cruise ship. KDHE said the person tested positive for the virus later. The three individuals in Kansas were not on the cruise ship, KDHE said, and they are not currently experiencing symptoms.

Hantaviruses don't typically spread person to person, but it appears the Andes virus strain can. It's more typical for the virus to spread through rodents, most commonly through the droppings, urine and saliva of rats and mice. It can also spread through scratches and bites, according to the CDC.