Maryland Department of Health Monitors Two Residents Following Potential Hantavirus Exposure Linked to Cruise Ship Passenger The Maryland Department of Health is monitoring two Maryland residents who may have been exposed to hantavirus after a brief overlap with a cruise ship passenger infected with the virus during an international flight. Health authorities are taking these steps out of an abundance of caution. At this time, the risk to the public in Maryland remains very low. The two Maryland residents with potential exposures were not passengers on the M/V Hondius cruise ship. The potential exposure occurred during air travel abroad. The Maryland Department of Health will not release additional information about the Maryland residents to protect their privacy. Hantaviruses are a family of viruses carried by rodents and cases are known to occur in the United States. Although most diseases stemming from hantavirus are not known to spread between people, the disease associated with M/V Hondius passengers is the Andes virus found in South America. It is the only known hantavirus capable of person-to-person transmission, though such transmission is rare and generally requires close, prolonged contact with an infected individual or their bodily fluids. The incubation period ranges from four to 42 days and asymptomatic persons are not considered infectious. No hantavirus cases have been identified in Maryland since 2019. Andes virus infections have never been reported in Maryland. The Maryland Department of Health is coordinating closely across all levels of government, as well as with leading experts and medical facilities that have Regional Emerging Special Pathogen Treatment Centers. This is an evolving public health situation.#centers_for_disease_control_and_prevention #hantavirus #maryland_department_of_health #m_v_hondius #andes_virus
