By Lila Marquez
TOPEKA, Kan. — A growing international outbreak tied to the rare Andes strain of hantavirus is raising new concerns among public health experts after NBC News reported that the virus may be spreading more easily than previously believed.
The concern comes as the Kansas Department of Health and Environment confirmed it is monitoring three individuals in Kansas for possible exposure connected to the outbreak aboard the cruise ship MV Hondius. Those potential Kansas cases were announced Tuesday.
Now, NBC News is reporting that additional possible exposures are also being investigated in Washington state, adding to mounting concern surrounding the outbreak.
At least 11 people connected to the cruise ship outbreak are believed to have contracted the Andes strain of hantavirus, with three deaths reported so far. Unlike most hantavirus strains found in North America, the Andes variant is the only known strain capable of spreading from person to person.
What has experts paying close attention is not necessarily proof that the virus has mutated — federal officials say there is currently no evidence of that — but rather that some transmission patterns appear different than expected.
NBC News reported that Dr. Ashish Jha, a senior fellow at Harvard University’s Kennedy School, said doctors involved in the outbreak investigation believe “at least a few people contracted it without that long, prolonged exposure that we’ve always assumed.”
For years, scientists believed Andes hantavirus transmission between humans generally required extremely close contact involving shared living spaces, bodily fluids, or prolonged exposure to symptomatic individuals.
The CDC continues to stress that the virus remains very difficult to spread and that the overall public risk is still considered “very, very low.”
Still, the outbreak aboard the Hondius cruise ship has forced researchers to revisit some assumptions.
Cruise ships are already known to create ideal conditions for infectious disease outbreaks because passengers spend extended periods in close quarters while sharing dining areas, ventilation systems, elevators, and other confined spaces.
According to NBC News, some experts are now questioning whether shorter-duration exposure may be enough to spread the virus under certain conditions.
The Andes strain has previously caused limited clusters in South America, including a well-documented outbreak in Argentina that resulted in 34 cases and 11 deaths after transmission at crowded social gatherings.
Health officials emphasize that hantavirus is still extremely rare. Most cases worldwide continue to originate from exposure to infected rodent droppings or urine rather than human transmission.
Symptoms can initially resemble the flu, including fever, fatigue, muscle aches, coughing, and shortness of breath. Severe cases can rapidly progress into respiratory failure.
Kansas health officials have not announced any confirmed infections within the state at this time. The three individuals under monitoring are reportedly asymptomatic but considered high-risk exposures because of close contact with infected passengers.
Federal investigators continue to monitor the situation closely as scientists work to determine whether the current outbreak reflects unusual environmental conditions aboard the cruise ship — or whether the virus may be capable of spreading under broader circumstances than previously understood.
