ST. PAUL, MN (KDAL) – The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) is monitoring one person in Minnesota who may have briefly been exposed overseas to someone who was on board the MV Hondius cruise ship and tested positive for hantavirus (Andes virus).
The MDH emphasizes that the risk to the public remains very low.
The Health Department is in contact with the person who was exposed. The individual is very cooperative and is being monitored daily for symptoms. The person does not currently have any symptoms.
MDH will not release any additional information on the person to protect their privacy.
Hantaviruses are a known group of viruses carried by rodents which can spread to people and make them very sick. The Andes virus is the only type of hantavirus known to spread from person to person; however, person-to-person spread is usually limited to people who have close contact with an infected person with symptoms.
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