California Resident Exposed to Hantavirus in Cruise Ship Outbreak, Health Officials Confirm
Health officials have identified a fifth Californian exposed to a deadly hantavirus strain on a Dutch cruise ship, the MV Hondius. This outbreak has already resulted in three fatalities among the ship's passengers. The newly identified individual, who is currently asymptomatic, disembarked the ship before the outbreak was recognized and is now in the Pitcairn Islands. The California Department of Public Health is monitoring the situation, with assistance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and British health officials, as the islands are a British Overseas Territory. Two other exposed Californians are quarantined in Nebraska, while the remaining two are in contact with local health officials in Santa Clara and Sacramento counties. The hantavirus, particularly the Andes strain involved in this outbreak, can be transmitted from person to person and is initially contracted through inhalation of particles contaminated by rodent excretions. 
