IDPH investigating possible hantavirus in Winnebago Co. not linked to cruise

Local News Illinois health officials investigating possible hantavirus case in Winnebago County not linked to cruise ship By Sara Tenenbaum, Sara Tenenbaum Senior Web Producer, CBS Chicago Sara Tenenbaum is the Senior Digital Producer for CBS News Chicago, overseeing editorial operations and social media, and covering breaking, local and community news. Read Full Bio Sara Tenenbaum, Marissa Sulek Marissa Sulek Reporter Marissa Sulek joined CBS News Chicago in January 2025. Before Chicago, Marissa was a general assignment reporter in Nashville at WSMV, where she was nominated for Mid-South Emmy Awards for her reporting on the deadly flooding in rural Waverly. Read Full Bio Marissa Sulek Updated on: May 12, 2026 / 11:29 PM EDT / CBS Chicago Add CBS News on Google The Illinois Department of Public Health said it is investigating a potential case of hantavirus in an Illinois resident that they said is not linked to the deadly cruise ship outbreak.Three people aboard the MV Hondius died from hantavirus, which is rare, and at least three more were sickened. A total of 16 American passengers are being monitored and quarantined in Nebraska after getting off the ship. Illinois public health officials said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is doing additional testing to confirm the resident is positive for hantavirus, and it could take up to 10 days to get results. IDPH said the patient is a resident of Winnebago County, close to the Rockford area, who had not traveled internationally and had not had any contact with any of the cruise ship passengers. They believe the patient contracted the virus in a home with rodent droppings and that it is the North American strain of hantavirus — not spread from person to person, unlike the Andes strain associated with the MV Hondius outbreak."It's (spread) by breathing it in, it's by inhaling it or by ingesting it," said Dr. Michael Angarone with Northwestern Medicine.Health officials also emphasized that the rode...