- At least two New Jersey residents were potentially exposed to a person infected with hantavirus after the patient left the MV Hondius ocean vessel at the center of an outbreak.
- These residents were not passengers on the ship and were potentially exposed during air travel abroad. They are currently being monitored by health authorities, showing no symptoms of the virus.
- The hantavirus outbreak has resulted in at least three deaths and eight confirmed or suspected cases, with several other states also monitoring disembarked passengers.
- Health officials, including the CDC and WHO, emphasize that the risk to the American public from this outbreak remains "extremely low" and is not comparable to a COVID-19-like pandemic.
- Hantavirus is typically spread through contact with infected rodents, with human-to-human transmission being uncommon, and has a fatality rate of nearly 40% percent among those infected.
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