Illinois Investigates Hantavirus Case Unrelated to Cruise Ship Outbreak

Illinois health officials are investigating a potential case of hantavirus in a Winnebago County resident who had not traveled internationally or had contact with passengers from the MV Hondius cruise ship. The resident may have contracted the North American strain of the virus while cleaning a home with rodent droppings, officials said Tuesday.

The patient experienced mild symptoms and did not require hospitalization. Testing by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention could take up to 10 days for confirmation. Three people died from hantavirus aboard the MV Hondius, with at least three others sickened.

The outbreak involves the Andes strain, which officials said can spread between people in rare cases unlike the North American variety. A total of 18 Americans who were aboard the vessel are being monitored. Sixteen are quarantined in Nebraska and remain asymptomatic while two are under observation in Atlanta.

One person in Atlanta showed symptoms but tested negative for the Andes strain. Five additional Americans who did not board the ship but took flights that included passengers from it are also being monitored in New Jersey, Maryland and California. None have shown symptoms.

Monitoring for all individuals lasts 42 days, matching the virus incubation period. The MV Hondius departed the Canary Islands on Monday with a reduced crew of 25 plus a doctor and nurse and is now heading to the Netherlands. Spanish health authorities described the evacuation of 94 people as mission accomplished.

Illinois has recorded seven confirmed hantavirus cases since 1993, with the most recent in March 2025. Nationwide, 890 cases were reported between 1993 and 2023. Officials emphasized the risk of contracting any strain remains very low in the state. The North American strain is not known to spread person to person.

It is primarily transmitted by inhaling airborne particles from rodent urine, saliva or droppings. The rodent species carrying the Andes strain is not found in the United States. Symptoms include fever, muscle aches, stomach pain and nausea, followed in some cases by severe respiratory distress.

Treatment may involve respiratory support or anti-inflammatory medications. Incubation can last up to eight weeks.

Trump said Monday the U.S. is in very good shape in dealing with the hantavirus and that his administration's response has been fine. He noted the disease is much harder to catch than some others and has been familiar to people for a long time. Other administration officials stated Friday that the situation is under control and the country is well prepared.

They pointed to extra precautions being taken with returning passengers because of the rare person-to-person transmission possibility with the Andes strain. A Dutch ornithologist who was the first to die aboard the MV Hondius may have been patient zero, according to a theory favored by the World Health Organisation.

Investigators continue to examine how and where he contracted the virus.

“It's (spread) by breathing it in, it's by inhaling it or by ingesting it." — Dr. Hantavirus has not been detected in Chicago's rodent population despite the presence of rats and mice. About 95 percent of North American strain cases occur west of the Mississippi River in states such as California, Arizona and New Mexico. The last Illinois case before this potential one was identified in March 2025. In a separate incident, French authorities confined more than 1,700 people aboard the cruise ship Ambition in Bordeaux after a 90-year-old passenger died. About 50 showed stomach issues but officials said there was no connection to hantavirus and initial tests ruled out norovirus. The Trump administration withdrew from the World Health Organization, a decision the president said he does not regret amid the current outbreak response.”