IDPH investigating potential hantavirus case in Winnebago County not linked to cruise ship outbreak

WINNEBAGO COUNTY, Ill. (WLS) -- The Illinois Department of Public Health is investigating a potential hantavirus case in an Illinois resident in Winnebago County, not linked to an outbreak on a cruise ship, the agency said Tuesday.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is conducting additional testing.

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The CDC said its test results could take up to 10 days.

It is believed the individual acquired the virus while cleaning a home where rodent droppings were present, IDPH said.

"Typically, we see it in cases like this one, where someone was cleaning an area where rats may have dwelled, and it may have aerosolized the either urine or feces from the rat that contain the virus," said Saint Anthony Hospital Infectious Disease Specialist Dr. Alfredo Mena Lora.

The person is not seriously ill and is recovering after experiencing mild symptoms that did not require hospitalization, IDPH said.

The North American strain of the hantavirus, which the individual is believed to have potentially acquired, is not spread from person to person, IDPH said. This is different from the Andes strain associated with the MV Hondius cruise ship.

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"The South American strain of this virus, very rarely, but still possible, does have human-to-human transmission. That is not the case with here in the United States, which is why we have such low cases," Lora said.

The risk of contracting Hantavirus of any kind remains very low for Illinois residents, IDPH said.

Orkin, a nationwide pest control company, says they have specific protocols in place when dealing with wildlife and rodent droppings to help mitigate potential spread.

"That includes the use of a disinfectant that's sprayed onto the areas or onto the surfaces where rodent droppings are first before any cleanup is done," said Orkin Entomologist and National Technical Director Shannon Sked.

And that's how pest experts advise homeowners to approach rodent droppings before sweeping it away.

Sked says in terms of the rodents they are most concerned with when it comes to hantavirus, "This is not your typical house mouse, Norway rat, roof rat, which are most of the commensal rodents that we work with in the pest control environment... In the area in the Midwest, it's those ones that come in in the winter and overwinter and then go back out into the that the farm fields in the summer."

Winnebago County includes Rockford, Illinois.

Excluding this latest potential case, Illinois has had seven positive cases of hantavirus since 1993, most recently in March 2025.

Since surveillance began in 1993, the U.S. recorded 890 cases of Hantavirus over 30 years (1993-2023), IDPH said.

"The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) has not been notified of any Illinois residents being passengers on the MV Hondius during the Hantavirus outbreak. IDPH will proactively update the public should there be any changes. While the risk to Illinois communities is currently very low, IDPH is coordinating closely with health care providers, local public health departments, and emergency management partners. IDPH will continue to monitor the situation closely and provide timely information to the public should there be any notable updates," the IDPH said.