Potential hantavirus case in Illinois not linked to cruise ship and originated from separate exposure to rat droppings

By JAMES CIRRONE, US NEWS REPORTER Published: 00:34, 13 May 2026 | Updated: 00:39, 13 May 2026 A potential hantavirus infection in Illinois is unrelated to the outbreak on the MV Hondius cruise ship and being investigated by state health authorities. A resident in Winnebago County, northwest of Chicago, is being monitored by the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH), ABC7 reported. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is also conducting tests on the individual. The CDC said test results could come back within 10 days. Officials say the person contracted the virus while cleaning a home where rodent droppings were present.  The person is not seriously ill, did not require hospitalization and is recovering at home, according to the IDPH. Crucially, authorities believe the person contracted the North American strain of hantavirus, which does not spread from person to person. Therefore, the risk to Illinois residents remains very low, according to the IDPH. This strain is different from the Andes virus, which spread on the MV Hondius ship and can be passed from person to person. The MV Hondius, a Dutch vessel, left from Ushuaia, Argentina, on April 1 while carrying 147 passengers and crew. Since then, there have been seven confirmed cases of hantavirus with three other possible cases. Three of the 10 people have died. A potential hantavirus infection in Illinois unrelated to the outbreak on the MV Hondius cruise ship is being investigated (Pictured: Staff wearing PPE suits prepare for the transfer of passengers from the ship at the Port of Granadilla de Abona on Tenerife Island on Monday) Pictured: Passengers from the final group to be evacuated from the ship made their way to the airport on Monday Although not confirmed yet, health authorities in Argentina have told various news outlets that Dutch ornithologist Leo Schilperoord, 70, was patient zero in the outbreak. It is believed that Leo then passed the virus to his 69-year-old wife Mirjam, who was with him on the cruise. Both of them later died and were named in their hometown newspaper's obituary section. The couple had been on a five-month trip throughout South America before getting on the ship, the New York Post reported. On March 27, days before the ship departed, the Schilperoords visited a landfill just outside Ushuaia for a birdwatching tour. Argentinian authorities believe this is where the couple contracted the Andes strain of hantavirus. On April 6, Leo reported having a fever, a headache, stomach pain and diarrhea. He died on the ship on April 11, per Newsweek. Mirjam remained on the ship before getting off at Saint Helena on April 24 while suffering from gastrointestinal symptoms. 'She subsequently deteriorated during a flight to Johannesburg, South Africa, on 25 April. She later died upon arrival at the emergency department on 26 April,' the World Health Organization said. Pictured: The MV Hondius cruise ship docked on the island of Tenerife in Spain's Canary Islands on Monday. The passengers disembarked here and made their way back to their home countries Pictured: Two Americans from the ship arrive at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia Another adult female, who has not been identified, died on May 2. She began feeling symptoms of a fever on April 28  The cruise ship outbreak became international news once it became clear that the remaining passengers would disembark Sunday at the island of Tenerife, the largest of Spain's Canary Islands. Upon their arrival to Spain, passengers received health screenings, the country's health authorities said. After that, passengers began the process of being repatriated to their home countries. The 18 Americans aboard the ship arrived back in the United States on Monday, and two of them traveled in the plane's biocontainment units as a precaution, according to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Sixteen of the passengers were taken to a facility in Omaha, Nebraska, to quarantine. One of them tested 'mildly' positive for the virus and is being kept away from the others.  The remaining two passengers were taken to Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia. It remains unclear how long the 18 passengers will have to stay isolated, though officials have said that if they remain asymptomatic, they may be allowed to return home to quarantine. During a Monday press conference in Omaha, HHS officials sought to assuage the fears of Americans who fear another pandemic is possible. 'Let me be crystal clear, the risk of hantavirus to the general public remains very, very low. The Andes variant of this virus does not spread easily, and it requires prolonged close contact with someone who is already symptomatic,' said Dr. Brian Christine, HHS' assistant secretary for health. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director-general of the WHO, was even more clear about the differences between hantavirus and COVID-19. 'I know you are worried. I know that when you hear the word "outbreak" and watch a ship sail toward your shores, memories surface that none of us have fully put to rest,' Ghebreyesus said on Saturday. 'The pain of 2020 is still real, and I do not dismiss it for a single moment. But I need you to hear me clearly: this is not another COVID-19.'  No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? 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