Health officials in Illinois have reported a potential hantavirus case, which is not associated with an ongoing outbreak on the MV Hondius cruise ship.
The case involves a resident of Winnebago County who did not travel internationally.
As per the Illinois Department of Public Health, the individual may have been exposed while cleaning a home containing rodent droppings, a known source of hantavirus infection.
Hantavirus symptoms are quite similar to COVID-19 symptoms and didn’t need hospitalisation.
Officials believe the case is expectedly caused by a North American hantavirus strain, which is different from the Andes strain associated with the cruise ship outbreak.
Unlike the Andes strain, North American variants are not known to transmit from person to person, and the overall risk remains very low.
The state has only recorded seven confirmed hantavirus cases since 1993, with the most recent in March 2025.
Nearly 890 cases have been reported across the US in more than three decades.
Meanwhile, passengers escorted off from the MV Hondius continue to be monitored.
Some of them are in quarantine facilities in Nebraska and Atlanta, while others remain under observation after international travel exposure.
Most are asymptomatic, and testing has ruled out the more dangerous Andes strain in suspected cases.
Health authorities say all individuals exposed are being monitored for up to 42 days, which matches the virus’ incubation period, and emphasize that containment efforts are ongoing.
