The Kansas Department of Health and Environment is keeping an eye on three individuals who were in contact with someone who later tested positive for hantavirus. According to health officials, these individuals were exposed internationally after interacting with a person from the MV Hondius cruise ship, who has since tested positive for the Andes hantavirus. Their level of exposure is categorized as “high-risk,” which could involve close contact, shared living space, or close proximity during travel with a symptomatic person. Importantly, the three are not currently showing any symptoms and were not on the cruise ship. A release from KDHE noted, “Based on our current knowledge of Andes virus, individuals are not considered infectious to others unless they become symptomatic.” While monitoring continues, officials assert there are “no suspected or confirmed cases of hantavirus in Kansas.”
The health department plans to keep assessing the risk, which they deem to be “extremely low.” “We do think the risk to the general public is very low from the Andy strain of hantavirus,” remarked Sarah Boyd, an infectious disease physician at Saint Luke’s Health System. She expressed confidence that Kansas health officials are responding to the situation proactively and carefully. “It’s really reassuring to me that they’re on top of it and able to help us and those people,” Boyd added.
Typically, hantaviruses spread through contact with the droppings, urine, or saliva of wild rodents, according to KDHE. The Andes virus responsible for the outbreak can be transmitted between people through close and prolonged interaction with someone showing symptoms. Symptoms usually emerge about four to 42 days after exposure, beginning with fever, fatigue, muscle aches, headaches, nausea, and more serious respiratory issues, which can be severe and potentially fatal. “It’s a longer window where symptoms could develop. But we do know that in prior cases it was contact with an ill person,” Boyd explained. While she doesn’t foresee a significant increase in cases, she encouraged the public to stay informed through trusted health sources rather than succumb to panic. “Be calm, know that the risk to the general public is extremely low at this point,” Boyd advised.
