An American who was not aboard the cruise ship hit by the hantavirus outbreak is feared to have contracted the virus.
The man, who is from Winnebago County, Illinois, is thought to have become infected after exposure to rodent droppings while cleaning out a residence, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.
“Typically, we see it in cases like this one, where someone was cleaning an area where rats may have dwelled, and it may have aerosolized the either urine or feces from the rat that contain the virus,” Saint Anthony Hospital Infectious Disease Specialist Dr. Alfredo Mena Lora, said, according to ABC7.
The hantavirus outbreak has so far killed three people and left several others sick after passengers aboard the Dutch-flagged vessel MV Hondius were infected with the Andes strain of the virus.
The Andes virus is a strain of hantavirus thought to be able to spread between people, unlike other strains of the disease.
Officials do not believe the man contracted the Andes strain linked to the cruise ship outbreak.
Instead, he is suspected of carrying a North African variant of hantavirus that is not known to spread between people.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is conducting further testing, with final results expected to take up to 10 days.
In the meantime, the man remains under close medical monitoring.
Authorities said the man experienced only minor symptoms and did not require hospital treatment, with his condition improving normally.
So far, the World Health Organization has identified 11 confirmed or suspected hantavirus cases connected to the cruise ship outbreak, including three fatalities.
The fatalities include a 70-year-old Dutch passenger who died on April 11, followed weeks later by his 69-year-old wife, whose posthumous test later confirmed hantavirus infection. A third passenger, a German national, died on board in early May.
On Sunday and Monday, authorities carried out a large-scale evacuation and repatriation effort, removing roughly 150 passengers from the ship and arranging flights back to their home countries.
Those potentially exposed are now being monitored by national health agencies, with infected individuals receiving medical care while officials work to trace close contacts and contain any further spread.
That includes the 17 Americans aboard the ship. The passengers arrived early Monday morning on a flight from Tenerife, Spain, to Omaha, Nebraska and are now being held at the country’s only federally funded quarantine center.
Officials said it’s not clear how long they will need to remain there.
Two passengers—one who tested “mildly positive” for the hantavirus and who was experiencing mild symptoms—traveled in specialized biocontainment units, the Times reported.
