SPOKANE — Health officials are monitoring at least 9 Americans who were potentially exposed to an infected cruise passenger on a flight, but a local health expert says it’s not likely this disease will spread.
Officials are also watching several people across at least five U.S. states. According to cruise operator Ocean-Wide Expeditions, 146 people from 23 countries are still on board the ship. They will arrive in Spain’s Canary Islands this weekend before flying home.
The Spokane Regional Health District says there are only a couple cases of hantavirus statewide each year. CDC data shows there were less than 900 cases of hantavirus in the U.S. from 1993 to 2023.
Despite fears about the outbreak on a Canary Island cruise ship starting to spread, local experts believe there is very little to worry about.
“The type of hantavirus that we have here in Washington that is typical of this part of the country is pretty uncommon and associated with deer mice. It’s a really rare infection,” said Mark Springer, disease prevention manager for the Spokane Regional Health District.
People get hantavirus by breathing air contaminated with the virus from mouse droppings or urine. The disease doesn’t spread from person to person through the air.
The regional health district emphasizes that person-to-person transmission of hantavirus is extremely unlikely. The type of hantavirus on the cruise ship is different from what Washington typically sees.
Because hantavirus is typically carried by deer mice, you won’t get it from a house mouse. But if you’re cleaning out your shed for the summer, you might come in contact with mice droppings or urine.
Wearing respiratory protection and making sure you spray any mouse droppings with disinfectant before cleaning them can help you stay safe.
“When they’re cleaning out buildings that haven’t been used or buildings where there’s a rodent infestation, there’s really easy things that people can do to really minimize any risk at all from these types of diseases,” said Springer.
The health district encourages people to visit the state Department of Health or the CDC’s website if they have more questions about hantavirus.
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