There were two Texans aboard the ship that experienced an outbreak of hantavirus recently, but the World Health Organization says there’s no reason to be alarmed.
The virus originates in rats and mice, and it’s very rarely found in humans; the two people on board the Hondius cruise ship thought to have first caught the virus did so while traveling in South America and were exposed to rats.
The two Texas residents were from the Houston area and left the ship before the outbreak was discovered, but medical officials say they are in contact with the couple and are monitoring their health but so far neither of the two have developed any symptoms of hantavirus.
The US Department of Health and Human Services has said it will not release any information about the couple, but added that it intends to continue monitoring their health for many weeks to come.
“It is not a virus that is easily transmitted from person to person like COVID. You actually have to be staying in the same room within close contact for a prolonged period of time to get it,” Dr. Jade Le, with Access TeleCare, told KXAS.
There have been cases of hantavirus in Texas over the decades, but there hasn’t been a reported case in the Lone Star State since 2021.