Health

Possible Illinois Hantavirus Case Not Linked to Outbreak on Cruise Ship

The Illinois Department of Public Health announced Tuesday the agency is investigating a potential hantavirus case in an Illinois resident that is not linked to a recent deadly cruise ship outbreak.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is conducting additional testing to confirm the resident is positive for hantavirus, which could take up to 10 days to complete.

The individual is believed to have potentially acquired the North American strain of the hantavirus, which is not spread from person to person, according to IDPH.

“Unlike the Andes strain of hantavirus responsible for the cruise outbreak, the North American strains are not known to spread from person-to-person,” according to an IDPH statement. “The risk of contracting hantavirus of any kind remains very low for Illinois residents.”

Health officials believe the individual, who lives in Winnebago County, may have acquired the virus while cleaning a home where rodent droppings were present. The individual has not traveled internationally, and has not come in contact with individuals associated with the MV Hondius cruise ship outbreak, according to IDPH.

The individual is not seriously ill, according to state health officials, and is recovering after experiencing mild symptoms that did not require hospitalization.

Illinois has had seven positive cases of hantavirus since 1993, most recently in March 2025.

The hantavirus strain most commonly seen in the U.S. is caused by exposure to rodent droppings and is not contagious from person to person, according to the health department.

Hantavirus Outbreak on MV Hondius Cruise Ship

The cruise ship outbreak has now reached 11 total reported cases, 9 of which have been confirmed. Three people on the cruise died, including a Dutch couple that health officials believe were the first exposed to the virus while visiting South America.

On Tuesday, a French woman infected with the virus on the ship was the latest passenger to become critically ill. She is being treated with an artificial lung, a doctor at a Paris hospital reported.

The director of the World Health Organization said confirmed and suspected cases have only been reported among the cruise ship’s passengers or crew.

“At the moment, there is no sign that we are seeing the start of a larger outbreak,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO director general. He added: “But of course the situation could change, and given the long incubation period of the virus, it’s possible we might see more cases in the coming weeks.”

All passengers who were aboard that ship have now left the vessel to begin quarantine in more than 20 countries.

Hantavirus usually spreads from rodent droppings and is not easily transmitted between people. But the Andes virus detected in the cruise ship outbreak may be able to spread between people in rare cases. Symptoms — which can include fever, chills and muscle aches — usually show between one and eight weeks after exposure.

Tedros of the WHO advised that returning passengers should stay in quarantine, either in their homes or in other facilities, for 42 days. He added that WHO cannot enforce its guidance, and that different countries may handle monitoring of passengers without symptoms in different ways.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Contact Eunice Alpasan: [email protected]

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