Most hantaviruses are not known to spread between people. Andes virus is the exception. After the initial spillover from infected rodents, it is the only hantavirus with well-documented person-to-person transmission.

A Virginia Tech disease ecologist said the outbreak of Andes hantavirus aboard the international MV Hondius cruise ship underscores how little scientists still know about the viruses circulating silently in wild rodent populations before they spill into humans.

Nebraska Medicine’s CEO explains how the U.S. is monitoring and containing passengers exposed to Andes hantavirus.

The hantavirus from the MV Hondius outbreak has been sequenced from samples taken from one of the infected individuals. The results confirm that it is the Andes strain, the most virulent and contagious,

An American on the repatriation flight began showing symptoms of hantavirus and another "tested mildly PCR positive for the Andes virus," the Department of Health and Human Services says.