Two residents of New Jersey are being monitored after they were potentially exposed to hantavirus linked to the cruise ship MV Hondius, according to state health officials. The New Jersey Department of Health said it was notified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that the two individuals may have been exposed while flying abroad after an infected passenger left the ship. The residents were not aboard the cruise vessel itself and currently have no symptoms. Officials said they are being monitored purely as a precaution.
“There are no confirmed cases of hantavirus in New Jersey. We will continue to keep residents informed as the situation develops,” Mikie Sherrill said in a statement shared on social media. State health officials emphasized that the risk to the general public remains very low.
Hantavirus infections in the United States are typically spread through exposure to infected rodents and are not known to spread from person to person. However, the strain connected to the outbreak aboard the MV Hondiu, the Andes virus, can rarely spread between humans through prolonged close contact or exposure to bodily fluids. Health officials noted that people without symptoms are not considered infectious.
The incubation period for hantavirus can range from four days to more than a month.
Authorities in five other US states — Georgia, Texas, Virginia, Arizona, and California — are also monitoring passengers who were on the cruise ship before cases were confirmed. So far, no illnesses have been reported among those being monitored.
Meanwhile, the US Department of State announced plans to arrange a repatriation flight for American citizens aboard the ship once it reaches Tenerife, Spain. US diplomats are expected to assist travelers there in coordination with the CDC, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Spanish government.
Worldwide, nine confirmed or suspected hantavirus cases and three deaths have been linked to the outbreak aboard the MV Hondius. Spanish authorities are preparing to receive more than 140 passengers and crew members when the ship arrives in Tenerife early Sunday. Health officials said evacuations will be handled carefully upon arrival.
Cruise operator Oceanwide Expeditions stated that, as of Thursday, there were no passengers or crew on board showing symptoms of possible infection.
The World Health Organization said the broader public risk from the outbreak remains low. On Friday, the WHO also confirmed that a flight attendant who briefly boarded a plane used by an infected passenger tested negative for hantavirus.
British authorities also reported a suspected new case involving a British national on a remote island visited by the MV Hondius during an April stop.
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