- A suspected hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship killed three passengers.
- Epidemiologist Kacy Nowak finds the outbreak unusual due to typical transmission methods.
- Hantavirus, often from rodents, can be deadly; Utah sees one case yearly.
SALT LAKE CITY — Reports of a suspected deadly outbreak on a cruise ship in the Atlantic Ocean raised questions Monday for a Utah epidemiologist who called the circumstances "unusual."
According to the reports, three people were dead and another three were sick, including one person who was hospitalized in critical condition.
The Hondius departed from Argentina about three weeks ago for the Canary Islands.
"We typically don't see large clusters of hantavirus, since hantavirus in the United States is not known to be transmitted from person-to-person," Kacy Nowak, epidemiologist with the Utah Department of Health and Human Services, said. "It's almost exclusively transmitted through contact with a rodent or rodent feces or urine."
Nowak said there had been instances of person-to-person transmission of a South American strain of hantavirus.
"That's also extremely rare, though," Nowak said during an interview with KSL. "Typically, worldwide, it's from direct contact with rodents."
Nowak said the ordeal came at a time when hantavirus cases tend to pop up, and it was approximately this time last year that the Utah Department of Health and Human Services raised public awareness about the virus.
"Over the wintertime, rodents will hide in cool, dark places like garages, cabins, storage units," Nowak said. "Spring, as we know, is kind of the time for spring cleaning, where people open up their garages to clean them out, or as summer begins people start to go to cabins or use RVs, for example, and rodents can be in there over the past few months, and that's when people are exposed to those rodents — specifically when they are cleaning up after their droppings."
According to the epidemiologist, Utah only sees roughly one human hantavirus case per year, but the virus can result in death in up to 60% of cases.
She said that while cases tend to surface in rural areas, hantavirus can be contracted anywhere in Utah.
"It's naturally occurring in our deer mice populations, so theoretically anyone can get it if they have the right exposure," Nowak said.
Nowak said the state urges people to never sweep or vacuum rodent droppings or bedding.
"That's when there's that chance to aerosolize the virus, and then you can inhale it, which is the highest risk to make people sick," she said.
Nowak said if someone suspects they have rodent droppings and aren't sure what to do, they can consult health officials or a pest control service.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also provides safety information and detailed instructions on how to safely clean and dispose of rodent droppings.
"It's best to err on the side of caution and use those better cleaning methods for something that could be rodent droppings," Nowak said.
Nowak said symptoms usually present one to eight weeks after exposure and can initially show up as a fever, with worsening respiratory symptoms like cough and chest pain due to fluid.
She believed the suspected hantavirus outbreak on the cruise ship would continue to get a close look from health officials internationally.
"It is definitely unusual," Nowak said. "We'll be following up to see what outcomes come from that."
