IDPH investigating possible hantavirus in Winnebago Co. not linked to cruise

The Illinois Department of Public Health said it is investigating a potential case of hantavirus in an Illinois resident that they said is not linked to the deadly cruise ship outbreak . Three people aboard the MV Hondius died from hantavirus , which is rare, and at least three more were sickened. A total of 16 American passengers are being monitored and quarantined in Nebraska after getting off the ship. Illinois public health officials said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is doing additional testing to confirm the resident is positive for hantavirus, and it could take up to 10 days to get results. IDPH said the patient is a resident of Winnebago County, close to the Rockford area, who had not traveled internationally and had not had any contact with any of the cruise ship passengers. They believe the patient contracted the virus in a home with rodent droppings and that it is the North American strain of hantavirus — not spread from person to person, unlike the Andes strain associated with the MV Hondius outbreak. "It's (spread) by breathing it in, it's by inhaling it or by ingesting it," said Dr. Michael Angarone with Northwestern Medicine. Health officials also emphasized that the rodent species known to carry the Andes strain of the virus in South America isn't found in the U.S. IDPH, along with some Chicago-area doctors, said the risk of contracting any strain of hantavirus remains very low in Illinois. …