2 Maryland residents monitored after potential hantavirus exposure, health officials say - CBS News

Updated on: May 12, 2026 / 5:31 PM EDT / CBS Baltimore Two Maryland residents are being monitored for potential hantavirus exposure, according to the Maryland Department of Health. Health officials said the Maryland residents were on a flight that included a passenger from the M/V Hondius cruise ship who was infected with hantavirus. Right now, the risk to the public in Maryland remains "very low," but health officials say they are taking precautionary steps. Maryland health officials said the residents with potential hantavirus exposure were not on the M/V Hondius cruise ship, but they were on a flight abroad with a passenger who has the virus. The health department said there have been no hantavirus cases identified in Maryland since 2019. Andes virus, a rare type of hantavirus tied to the cruise ship, has never been reported in Maryland.  Health officials in Maryland are coordinating with all levels of government, as well as health experts and medical facilities. Hantaviruses are a family of viruses that are spread to people from rodents through urine, droppings or saliva, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).  According to the Maryland Health Department, most diseases stemming from hantavirus are not known to spread between people. However, the disease associated with M/V Hondius passengers is the Andes virus found in South America. Health officials say the Andes virus is the only known hantavirus capable of spreading from person-to-person. According to the CDC, hantavirus is a severe and potentially deadly disease that affects the lungs. The agency said that 38% of people who develop respiratory symptoms may die from the disease. Early symptoms of hantavirus include fatigue, fever and muscle aches. Nearly half infected have headaches, dizziness, chills and abdominal programs. The late symptoms include coughing and shortness of breath, and some patients might experience tightness in the chest, as the lungs fill with fluid, the CDC says. The incubation period ranges from four to 42 days, and asymptomatic persons are not considered infectious, health officials say.  Seventeen Americans and a dual British-U.S. citizen were evacuated from the M/V Hondius cruise ship, which was hit with the deadly outbreak of hantavirus. Three people linked to the outbreak on the cruise ship died. Overall, the ship was carrying about 150 people from more than 15 countries. "This is not another COVID, and the risk to the public is low," World Health Organization Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said. "So, they shouldn't be scared, and they shouldn't panic," said Tedros. He also said years of scientific evaluations of the virus and its behavior, in addition to how the virus has behaved so far in this particular outbreak, have informed that judgment." Medical experts at Johns Hopkins say this will not be another COVID-19 pandemic. "It is hard not to have PTSD, but we must try," said Dr. Bhakti Hansoti, an associate professor of emergency medicine and infectious disease at Johns Hopkins. Health officials say that exposure to the hantavirus right now is unlikely because of how quickly patients were isolated. "These individuals were on a cruise ship," Hansoti said. "We were able to monitor their treatment course and actually track every single person those individuals are in contact with. So that has been a really effective strategy in ensuring that there isn't widespread." Health officials are still trying to learn more about how the virus spreads. The Johns Hopkins Special Pathogens Center houses a biocontainment unit, which is one of 13 like it in the country. The unit opened in 2015 in response to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. The federally funded, four bed units work to treat patients, provide a safe containment zone for healthcare workers, and educate providers regionally about how to handle treatment of certain diseases. The unit stands ready to treat patients with hantavirus if cases are confirmed in our region, but also do more tests and research on how the virus spreads. "What we're doing operationally is making sure that for those individuals that were in contact, that they are properly isolating themselves, that we're monitoring them, and if they do need patient care and they do require testing, that we are pre-positioned to support them," said Christopher Sulmonte, administrator of the Johns Hopkins Special Pathogens Center. Meanwhile, some Marylanders are worried the disease is spreading quickly. They are concerned how it could impact their health and also their wellbeing, fearing this will turn into another global pandemic. "Here we go again," Baltimore resident Justin Van Slyke said. "I survived that , so I can probably survive this too. I feel like I have no more emotions left to feel." Health experts at Johns Hopkins say neighbors should not be worried because disease containment is working. "I'm not masking when I go to the shops. My children are in school. I am very comfortable going to outdoor events or public events, and I have to say, fairly risk averse. I hope the same applies for everybody else," Hansoti said.