Minnesota Health Officials Monitoring One Person For Possible Hantavirus Exposure

(KNSI) – The Minnesota Department of Health says it is monitoring one person in the state who may have been briefly exposed to hantavirus while overseas.

In a statement issued Tuesday, the department of health says the person had brief contact abroad with someone who was on board the MV Hondius cruise ship and later tested positive for the Andes strain of hantavirus. The agency says the risk to the public remains very low.

According to MDH, the person is cooperating with health officials and is being monitored daily for symptoms. They are not showing any symptoms at this time. The department says it will not release any additional information about the person in order to protect their privacy.

Hantaviruses are a group of viruses carried by rodents that can spread to people and cause serious illness. The Andes virus, the strain tied to the cruise ship outbreak, is the only type known to spread from person to person, though officials say that transmission is rare and usually limited to people in close contact with someone who is already showing symptoms.

The MV Hondius outbreak has drawn worldwide attention. The Dutch-flagged expedition cruise ship departed Argentina on April 1st and has been linked to 11 cases and three deaths, according to the World Health Organization.

American passengers returned to the United States on Monday and are being monitored at the National Quarantine Center at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha. At least four other states, including Maryland, Virginia, Washington and Arizona, are also monitoring residents for potential exposure.

MDH says it is working with local public health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and healthcare partners. The agency says the situation is evolving and it will share more information as needed.

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