Global health leaders are scrambling to establish the best protocol for managing an outbreak of the deadly hantavirus aboard a Dutch cruise ship set to reach land Sunday, May 10, in the Canary Islands.
The virus — which has been identified as the Andes strain and is believed to be capable of human-to-human transmission with close contact — already has killed three people who were aboard the MV Hondias and potentially infected at least five others who have either confirmed or suspected cases of the rodent-borne virus, Reuters reported.
Some of the ship’s passengers already have disembarked and returned home — including seven Americans who now are in the states of Arizona, California, Georgia, Texas and Virginia, USA TODAY reported. Two other people in New Jersey are being monitored after potentially being exposed during air travel to an infected person from the cruise ship, the state health department announced on May 8.
So far, none of the ship’s passengers who’ve returned to the United States are in Michigan, said Lynn Sutfin, a spokesperson for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. She told the Detroit Free Press on May 8 that no one in the state is under monitoring for possible exposure to hantavirus from the MV Hondias, either.
“CDC is collaborating with international partners to obtain information on cruise ship travelers, and they intend on notifying states of any impacted residents. We have not received any referrals from CDC to date,” Sutfin said.
State health leaders also have not received information from the CDC about any risk to travelers at Michigan airports, Sutfin said, adding: “According to CDC the risk to the general public, including travelers passing through airports, is considered low.”
How many Americans are still on board the MV Hondias?
For the 150 people remaining on board the MV Hondias, global health authorities are working to create a plan for returning them to their home countries once they disembark in Tenerife, Spain, monitoring for symptoms and quarantining to ensure the virus doesn’t spread to a wider population.
NBC News reported Friday, May 8, that the U.S. State Department is planning a special flight for the 17 Americans still aboard the ship.
They’ll be flown to Omaha, Nebraska, and taken to the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s National Quarantine Unit, the only federally funded quarantine facility of its kind in the United States.
The unit was used to treat people with Ebola virus and some of the first coronavirus patients in the U.S. at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, including people who were aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship, the UNMC announced May 8.
“We are prepared for situations exactly like this,” said Dr. Michael Ash, CEO of Nebraska Medicine, in a statement issued Friday. “Our teams have trained for decades alongside federal and state partners to make sure we can safely provide care while protecting our staff and the broader community. We are proud to support this national effort.”
If any of the American passengers develop hantavirus symptoms while they’re in quarantine, they will be moved to the medical center’s Nebraska Biocontainment Unit, which is designed to care for people with high-consequence infectious diseases.
What is hantavirus?
There are several types of hantavirus that can cause rare, but deadly illnesses, according to the CDC and the University of Michigan Health-Sparrow.
The type that was identified on the cruise ship is the Andes virus, which primarily spreads through contact with infected rodents in South America or their urine, saliva or feces.
It can also infect humans when they touch an object or surface with the virus on it and then touch their mouth, nose or eyes. It also is believed to be transmissible through close contact with a person who is sick with the virus. The Andes type hantavirus is the only kind known to spread from person to person.
The CDC reports that rodents that carry Andes virus have not been found in the United States.
In people who are infected, it can cause a severe respiratory illness called hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, which initially presents with flu-like symptoms.
Can you catch hantavirus in Michigan?
While it’s unlikely anyone in Michigan will be impacted by the current cruise ship outbreak, rats and mice are common in Michigan. The best way to minimize potential risk is to limit contact with rats and mice, and take steps to prevent them from entering your home or workspace, experts recommend.
Michigan health officials reported just one case of hantavirus in the state: A woman from Washtenaw County was sickened with the Sin Nombre type of hantavirus in 2021, which is linked to exposure to the urine, feces and saliva of infected deer mice and white-footed mice.
Humans become infected when freshly dried rodent excrement is disturbed and inhaled, or when it gets into breaks in the skin or on mucous membranes or when ingesting contaminated food or water. Bites from rodents can also transmit hantavirus.
The highest risk of exposure occurs when entering or cleaning rodent-infested structures.
The Washtenaw County woman was likely infected while cleaning a residential dwelling that had been unoccupied for about two years; there were signs of an active rodent infestation, Susan Ringler-Cerniglia, a spokeswoman for the county health department, told the Detroit Free Press for a story published at the time.
As of December 2025, the Washtenaw case was the only occurrence in Michigan.
Hantavirus was also the virus that killed Betsy Arakawa, the wife of the late actor Gene Hackman. She and Hackman were found dead in February 2025 in their Santa Fe, New Mexico, home.
Here’s what else you should know about hantaviruses:
How to prevent the spread of hantavirus
To prevent the spread of hantavirus and its related diseases, reduce contact with rodents in your home, workplace or campsite, the CDC advises. Put rodent traps in and around your home or workplace, clean up food and seal holes or gaps in your home, workplace or garage.
What is hantavirus?
Hantavirus includes a family of rodent-borne viruses that spread mainly by exposure to the urine, droppings and saliva of rats and mice, according to the CDC.
The viruses causes two deadly diseases: in the United States, hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, and, mainly in Europe and Asia, hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome, the CDC noted. About 38% of people with hantavirus pulmonary syndrome and respiratory symptoms die.
Of the many types of hantaviruses, however, the Andes virus is the only type that spreads from human-to-human, according to the CDC. The World Health Organization confirmed that is the strain involved in the current cruise ship cluster.
Hantavirus was first discovered to be responsible for hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) in people living in the Southwest United States in 1993. HPS has since infected people throughout the U.S. and the Americas, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services explained.
What is Andes virus? Is Andes virus the same as hantavirus?
Per the WHO, the Andes virus is a form of hantavirus that has been known to cause limited human-to-human transmissions among people with prolonged and close contacts
The virus is in the same hantavirus family that causes hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome (HCPS), which affects the lungs and heart and is described by the WHO as “rapidly progressing.”
This family of hantavirus is present in North, Central and South America, though the Andes virus was primarily contained to Argentina and Chile, according to the WHO.
What are common hantavirus pulmonary syndrome symptoms?
Signs and symptoms of infection typically occur four to 42 days after exposure, the CDC reports.
Here are common early symptoms of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, a rare infectious disease, according to the CDC and U-M:
About half of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome cases also see the following symptoms, per the CDC:
USA TODAY contributed.
Contact Jenna Prestininzi: jprestininzi@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Can you catch hantavirus in Michigan? What experts say
Reporting by Kristen Jordan Shamus and Jenna Prestininzi, USA TODAY NETWORK / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
