In May 2026, a hantavirus outbreak aboard the M/V Hondius expedition cruise ship killed three people and sickened at least ten others, making it one of the most high-profile clusters of the disease in recent memory.
The CDC issued quarantine orders for passengers brought to the National Quarantine Unit at Nebraska Medicine in Omaha, after the World Health Organization confirmed that the Andes virus strain can be transmitted person-to-person through prolonged contact.
Hantavirus does not normally make international headlines. It is a rodent-borne disease that infects roughly 20 to 40 Americans per year, with most cases occurring west of the Mississippi. But the cruise ship outbreak refocused public attention on a virus that is not limited to the American Southwest, and that has been confirmed in Pennsylvania.
As rodent activity remains year-round in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, homeowners with mice or rats in the house have reason to understand exactly what the disease is, how it spreads, and what practical steps to reduce exposure look like.
What Is the 2026 Hantavirus Outbreak?
The current outbreak is caused by Andes virus, a hantavirus strain endemic to South America rather than the United States.
On May 2, 2026, the World Health Organization was notified of a cluster of severe acute respiratory illness among passengers and crew aboard the M/V Hondius in the Atlantic Ocean.
By May 6, the WHO confirmed the Andes virus as the cause. As of mid-May, WHO had reported 10 cases—eight of them laboratory-confirmed—and three deaths.
The CDC confirmed quarantine orders for two passengers brought to Nebraska Medicine. It noted that as of May 18, no confirmed cases of the Andes virus associated with the ship had been reported inside the United States. The CDC characterized the overall risk to the American public as extremely low.
What made this outbreak medically significant, beyond its immediate casualties, was the confirmed strain involved.
Andes virus is the only hantavirus known to spread from person to person—a characteristic that sets it apart from every hantavirus strain found in the United States. Sin Nombre virus, the strain responsible for the vast majority of American HPS cases, does not spread between people.
Exposure to Sin Nombre virus in the U.S. requires contact with infected rodents or their waste. The cruise ship outbreak, while alarming, involves a different virus with a different transmission profile than what New Jersey and Pennsylvania homeowners face domestically.
What Is Hantavirus and How Does It Spread in the United States?
Hantaviruses are a family of viruses spread primarily by rodents. In the United States, infection causes Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS), a potentially fatal respiratory disease.
The CDC has recorded 890 confirmed cases of hantavirus disease in the United States since surveillance began in 1993. This low total reflects how uncommon the disease is, but that number includes a 35 to 40 percent mortality rate among those who develop full HPS.
The primary carrier of Sin Nombre virus in the United States is the deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus). An estimated 15 percent of deer mice carry the virus.
White-footed mice, cotton rats, and rice rats can carry other hantavirus variants. The common house mouse and Norway rat—the two most common species in urban New Jersey and Pennsylvania—are not known carriers, but this does not mean rodent exposure in any form is without risk.
How Transmission Happens
Hantavirus does not require direct contact with a live rodent. The CDC identifies three transmission routes:
- Inhalation: The most common and most dangerous route. Sweeping, vacuuming, or otherwise disturbing areas with mouse droppings, urine, or nesting material releases viral particles into the air. Breathing that contaminated dust is how most hantavirus infections occur. The CDC specifically warns against sweeping or vacuuming dry rodent droppings for this reason.
- Direct contact: Touching rodent droppings, urine, or saliva and then touching the mouth, nose, or eyes. The virus can survive for hours to days on surfaces, particularly in cool, moist, shaded conditions, such as basements and crawlspaces.
- Rodent bites: Rare but possible when handling a live or recently dead wild rodent.
Person-to-person transmission does not occur with any hantavirus strain found in the United States. The Andes virus from the cruise ship outbreak is the sole known exception globally.
Is Hantavirus Present in New Jersey and Pennsylvania?
Yes, hantavirus has been confirmed in both states, though it remains uncommon.
The Pennsylvania Game Commission and the Pennsylvania Department of Health both document hantavirus as present in the state, and Pennsylvania has had confirmed human cases, including one in Clearfield County in 2007.
St. Luke’s Health Network has noted that while hantavirus is particularly rare in the Northeast compared to western states, it has been reported in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, and multiple other eastern states.
The geographic distribution of hantavirus cases in the U.S. is overwhelmingly concentrated west of the Mississippi River.
New Mexico, Colorado, and Arizona account for the largest shares of confirmed cases nationally.
However, the CDC’s own case mapping confirms reported cases in Pennsylvania and surrounding states.
The practical implication for New Jersey and Pennsylvania homeowners is not alarm. It is informed caution.
The risk of contracting hantavirus from a mouse infestation in Burlington County or Lackawanna County is low, but not zero. By following CDC guidelines and the precautions our technicians take when dealing with rodents, you can eliminate your risk of hantavirus.
How to Protect Yourself: CDC-Recommended Safety Steps
To minimize the risk of exposure to hantavirus, the CDC recommends a strict three-pronged approach focused on safe entry, meticulous cleanup, and long-term rodent exclusion.
Before You Enter a Potentially Contaminated Space
- Ventilate before entering: Open windows and doors and allow the space to air out for at least 30 minutes before entering. Cross-ventilation is preferable. Do not enter immediately after unlocking a space that has been closed all winter.
- Wear respiratory protection: A disposable N95 respirator is the minimum appropriate protection when entering a space with confirmed or suspected rodent activity. A standard dust mask is not sufficient. The viral particles in contaminated dust are small enough to pass through cloth face coverings.
- Wear rubber, latex, or vinyl gloves: Do not handle any rodent waste, nesting material, or dead rodents with bare hands.
Cleaning Contaminated Surfaces and Materials
- Never sweep or vacuum dry droppings: This is the single most important rule in the CDC’s hantavirus guidance. Sweeping or vacuuming dry droppings aerosolizes viral particles. Wet cleaning is required.
- Spray droppings and contaminated material before touching: Mix 1.5 cups of household bleach per gallon of water and spray the contaminated area thoroughly. Allow the solution to soak for at least five minutes before wiping up. This disinfects the material and prevents aerosolization during cleanup.
- Double-bag all contaminated waste: Place soaked droppings, nesting material, and dead rodents in a plastic bag, seal it, and place it inside a second plastic bag before disposal.
- Disinfect all surfaces after removal: Wipe down all surfaces in the area with the same bleach solution. Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water after removing gloves.
Long-Term Prevention: Sealing Rodents Out
The most effective long-term protection against rodent-associated disease risk is preventing rodents from entering the structure in the first place. Exclusion measures are more durable than trapping alone, because a sealed structure eliminates the exposure risk at the source rather than responding to it after the fact.
- Seal entry points: Mice can enter through gaps as small as a dime. Inspect the foundation perimeter, utility penetrations, garage door gaps, and the soffit and roofline of older homes for gaps and seal them with steel wool, hardware cloth, caulk, and foam appropriate for each location.
- Eliminate food and harborage sources: Store birdseed, pet food, and any grain products in sealed hard-sided containers. Keep firewood stacked away from the structure. Reduce ground-level clutter adjacent to the foundation that provides rodent harborage.
- Address indoor harborage: Cardboard storage boxes in basements and attics are preferred rodent nesting material. Transferring stored items to sealed plastic bins eliminates both the nesting substrate and the risk that disturbing an infested cardboard box creates.
While these methods help reduce rodent exposure, the best way to eliminate your chances of encountering rodents is with a seasonal prevention plan from a trusted exterminator.
Plans include inspections and treatments that leave you covered for rodent control if you spot signs of a rat or mouse in your property.
When to Seek Medical Attention
Hantavirus symptoms appear one to eight weeks after exposure and initially resemble the flu: fever, fatigue, muscle aches, particularly in the thighs, hips, and back, nausea, and headache.
The most dangerous progression occurs four to ten days later, when HPS patients develop severe shortness of breath as fluid fills the lungs. This respiratory phase can deteriorate rapidly and requires intensive care.
If you have been in a space with evidence of heavy rodent activity and develop flu-like symptoms in the following weeks, seek medical attention promptly and tell the physician about your potential rodent exposure.
Early clinical recognition is critical because by the time respiratory symptoms appear, the window for intervention is narrow. There is no specific antiviral treatment for hantavirus, and supportive care in an intensive care setting is the primary medical response.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is hantavirus present in New Jersey and Pennsylvania?
Yes. Hantavirus has been confirmed in both states, though cases are rare compared to the western United States. Pennsylvania has documented confirmed human cases, and both states are home to the deer mouse and white-footed mouse, the primary rodent carriers of hantavirus strains present in the eastern U.S. The risk is real but low for most homeowners who do not regularly disturb rodent-contaminated enclosed spaces.
Does the 2026 cruise ship hantavirus outbreak affect New Jersey and Pennsylvania residents?
The outbreak aboard the M/V Hondius cruise ship involves the Andes virus strain, which is endemic to South America and is the only hantavirus known to spread between people. It is a different virus than the hantavirus strains present in the United States. As of May 18, 2026, the CDC confirmed no cases of Andes virus associated with the outbreak have been reported in the U.S., and the overall risk to the American public is considered extremely low.
Can I get hantavirus from the mice in my house?
The common house mouse (Mus musculus) and the Norway rat are not known carriers of hantavirus in the United States. The primary carriers are deer mice and white-footed mice, which are more common in rural, forested, and suburban settings in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. However, any mouse infestation in an enclosed space creates a health concern through other pathogens, including Salmonella, and the presence of any rodent in your home warrants professional control.
What is the right way to clean up mouse droppings to avoid hantavirus?
The CDC is specific: never sweep or vacuum dry mouse droppings. Doing so aerosolizes viral particles. Instead, ventilate the area for 30 minutes before entering, wear an N95 respirator and rubber gloves, spray droppings with a bleach solution (1.5 cups of bleach per gallon of water), let it soak for five minutes, then wipe up the soaked material. Double-bag all waste before disposal. This wet-cleaning approach is the standard recommended by the CDC for all rodent-contaminated spaces.
What symptoms indicate a possible hantavirus infection?
Early symptoms of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome are flu-like and appear one to eight weeks after exposure: fever, severe fatigue, muscle aches in the large muscle groups, headache, nausea, and chills.
Can a professional rodent control service reduce hantavirus risk?
Yes, directly. Professional rodent control addresses the infestation that creates exposure risk, and professional exclusion seals the entry points that allow rodents to establish in the structure in the first place. The Pest Rangers provides rodent control and exclusion services throughout New Jersey and Pennsylvania, eliminating the rodent presence and the ongoing waste accumulation that creates hantavirus exposure risk in enclosed spaces.
