The New Jersey Department of Health confirmed Friday that two state residents are being monitored after potentially being exposed to a person infected with hantavirus. The CDC alerted New Jersey officials that the two residents may have come into contact with the infected individual during air travel abroad. Neither person was on the cruise ship at the center of the outbreak, the MV Hondius, and neither is currently showing symptoms.
Governor Mikie Sherrill addressed the situation in a statement on social media, telling residents there are no confirmed cases of hantavirus in New Jersey and that the state will keep people informed as things develop. Officials are stressing that the risk to the general public remains very low. New Jersey has never recorded a confirmed hantavirus case in its history.
The MV Hondius outbreak has been linked to the Andes virus, a strain that comes out of South America and stands apart from the hantaviruses currently circulating in the United States. Most U.S. strains are carried by rodents and do not spread from person to person. The Andes virus is the exception, the only known hantavirus capable of person to person transmission, though even then it is rare and typically requires close, prolonged contact with an infected person or their bodily fluids. The incubation period runs anywhere from four to 42 days, and people who are not showing symptoms are not considered infectious.
Three people have died in the outbreak that started aboard the Antarctic cruise. Nine U.S. residents are now being monitored across six states as health officials continue contact tracing.
While the fatality rate for hantavirus infections can climb as high as 40 percent, infectious disease experts are urging the public not to spiral. Dr. Adeel Butt of Hackensack Meridian Health said the likelihood of hantavirus becoming highly transmissible is extremely low, and global experts agree the chances of it turning into anything resembling COVID are slim.
The New Jersey Department of Health says it will continue working with local officials to monitor returning travelers and will share updates as the situation evolves.
