Possible hantavirus case in Illinois not tied to ship outbreak under investigation, IDPH says
What to know about possible hantavirus case in Illinois
Public health officials announced they are monitoring a possible hantavirus case in Illinois that is not tied to the cruise ship outbreak.
CHICAGO - Health officials in northern Illinois said Tuesday they're investigating a potential case of hantavirus that is not tied to the cruise ship outbreak.
What we know:
It’s believed the person, who lives in Winnebago County, may have contracted a strain of the virus more common in North America while cleaning a home where rodent droppings were present, according to an Illinois Department of Public Health statement.
"Unlike the Andes strain of Hantavirus responsible for the cruise outbreak, the North American strains are not known to spread from person-to-person. The risk of contracting Hantavirus of any kind remains very low for Illinois residents," the IDPH said in a statement.
The CDC is testing to confirm that the person did indeed contract hantavirus, but the test results could take up to 10 days to complete. The IDPH did not specify when the tests began.
Officials added the person is not seriously ill and is recovering after experiencing mild symptoms, which did not require hospitalization.
Still, public health officials stressed that the threat of hantavirus in Illinois remains very low to residents. The IDPH said it is proactively releasing the information to the public due to the increased interest in the topic.
The person who may have contracted the virus has not traveled internationally and had not been in contact with anyone associated with the cruise ship outbreak, IDPH said.
Big picture view:
Plus, officials said the strain that caused the outbreak on the ship is different from the strain more commonly found in North America, which is not known to spread from person to person.
"This is the typical season for hantavirus infections. Usually spring and summer is where we see most infections in the Western Hemisphere," said Steven Bradfute, associate director at the Center for Global Health at the University of New Mexico.
The IDPH said on Monday that it was not aware of any Illinois residents who had been on the cruise ship that experienced the outbreak. Of the 18 passengers on that ship, one had tested positive and another had shown mild symptoms.
The American passengers returned to the U.S. and were taken to medical facilities in Nebraska and Georgia.
Since officials began to monitor for hantavirus, the U.S. has only recorded 890 cases over 30 years between 1993 and 2023 and Illinois saw only seven positive cases during that time. The most recent case in Illinois was detected in March 2025, according to the IDPH.
What you can do:
Bradfute has advice for anyone who may come near droppings.
"It’s key to understand that if you are around areas where you see a lot of rodent activity, you see rodent droppings, and you’re cleaning in that area, make sure to disinfect the droppings correctly using disinfectant, a fitted N-95 mask and gloves," Bradfute said. "Don’t sweep. Don’t vacuum. Disinfect and use paper towels to clean it up."
Bradfute said symptoms don't show up right away.
"A lot of times, infections occur just like that when you’re cleaning," Bradfute said. "It does happen where people don’t have a known exposure to rodents and they still come down with the virus. Part of this is because by the time you get infected to the time you get sick with these hantaviruses in the Western Hemisphere, it’s usually a week or two, but it can be up to several weeks."