Arizona health officials are monitoring a resident who recently returned from an expedition cruise linked to a deadly hantavirus outbreak, though authorities stressed Thursday that the threat to the public remains extremely low.
The Arizona Department of Health Services said the traveler returned to Arizona after being aboard the MV Hondius, where multiple passengers became ill during a voyage through the South Atlantic.
Officials said the individual currently has no symptoms and is being monitored daily by their local county health department after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention alerted Arizona authorities earlier this week.
Because hantavirus testing is not considered reliable until symptoms develop, health experts said there is currently no way to determine whether the Arizona resident was infected. The person will remain under observation for 42 days, reflecting the virus’s potentially long incubation period.
State officials also noted there is no indication the traveler had close contact with infected passengers aboard the ship.
The outbreak aboard the MV Hondius drew international attention after several passengers became seriously ill during the expedition cruise, which departed from Argentina on April 1.
A 70-year-old Dutch passenger reportedly died aboard the vessel on April 11 after developing symptoms days earlier. His wife later disembarked on the island of Saint Helena but died April 26 while traveling through South Africa.
Additional illnesses were later reported among passengers, including a German woman who died May 2. That same day, a British passenger evacuated from the ship tested positive for hantavirus in South Africa.
The World Health Organization subsequently confirmed a hantavirus outbreak tied to the vessel after testing linked one of the deaths to the disease.
Hantaviruses are typically spread through exposure to infected rodent droppings, urine or saliva. Human-to-human transmission is considered rare, and health officials emphasized that the virus does not spread easily between people.
As of Friday, roughly 140 passengers and crew members reportedly remained aboard the ship as it traveled toward the Canary Islands, where Spanish authorities were preparing controlled evacuations and additional health screenings.
Arizona officials said they have not been informed of any other state residents connected to the outbreak.
