CDC says threat of widespread outbreak of hantavirus remains low

Members of the press report from an expected reception point for passengers from the MV Hondius at the Granadilla Port on May 09, 2026 in Tenerife, part of the Canary Islands, Spain. Chris McGrath/ hide caption toggle caption Chris McGrath/ The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Saturday said the agency had deep experience with the Andes strain of the hantavirus, offering assurance to the American public that there was low risk for a widespread outbreak. The remarks from CDC officials come as headlines about the virus — which broke out aboard a cruise ship last month — have sparked fears of a COVID-like pandemic. Officials speaking to reporters on Saturday stressed that transmission of the virus from person to person was rare and the risk to the American public remains "extremely low." Hantavirus is typically contracted when humans come into contact with rodent urine, saliva or feces. The Andes strain of the virus, however — which is the one currently being monitored aboard the MV Honius cruise ship — can, in rare instances, transmit person to person. Three people from the cruise — a Dutch couple and a German woman — have died from the virus. The Dutch couple is thought to have come into contact with hantavirus before boarding the ship, during a birdwatching excursion at an Argentine landfill site. More than two dozen American passengers were aboard the ship. …