Potentially deadly hantavirus is making headlines amid a cruise ship outbreak that has killed three people, but Michigan residents likely don’t need to worry about the rodent-borne virus or the illness it causes.
The family of viruses can cause rare, but deadly illnesses, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and University of Michigan Health-Sparrow. Michigan health officials reported one incidence of the virus in recent years.
A recent hantavirus outbreak on a Dutch cruise ship has led to three deaths, among eight passengers linked to the outbreak, USA TODAY reported. Officials have been trying to track down others who were in contact with the cruise passengers.
The Georgia Department of Health confirmed to USA TODAY that it’s monitoring two residents, and The New York Times reported that public health officials in Arizona and California are also monitoring residents from the cruise ship.
While it’s unlikely anyone in Michigan will be impacted by the current cruise ship outbreak, rats and mice are common in the state. 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.
Here’s what to know about hantavirus.
Can you catch hantavirus in Michigan?
While rodents in Michigan could carry hantavirus, human cases of the virus and its associated disease, hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, are rare, according to University of Michigan Health-Sparrow. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services reported its only case in 2021 in Washtenaw County. As of Dec. 2025, the Washtenaw case was the only occurrence in Michigan.
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 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The viruses causes two deadly diseases, in the U.S., 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 who get respiratory symptoms die.
Of the many types of hantaviruses, however, the Andes virus is the only type that spreads human-to-human, according to the CDC, which was confirmed by the World Health Organization to be the strain involved in the current cruise ship cluster.
Hantavirus was first discovered to be responsible for hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) in ill patients 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’s 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 contributed to Argentina and Chile, according to the WHO.
What are common hantavirus pulmonary syndrome symptoms?
Here are common early symptoms of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, a rare infectious disease, according to the CDC and U-M:
Around 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 Jenna Prestininzi, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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