{"id":60,"date":"2026-05-11T05:33:11","date_gmt":"2026-05-11T05:33:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=60"},"modified":"2026-05-11T05:33:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-11T05:33:11","slug":"arizona-health-officials-monitoring-cruise-passenger-for-possible-hantavirus-exposure-experts-say-public-risk-is-low","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=60","title":{"rendered":"Arizona health officials monitoring cruise passenger for possible hantavirus exposure; experts say public risk is low"},"content":{"rendered":"
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TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) – Arizona health officials are monitoring a person who recently returned to the state after disembarking a polar expedition cruise connected to a deadly hantavirus outbreak, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS). <\/p>\n

Read more Person rescued after falling off cliff in northern Arizona<\/a><\/p>\n

Officials and University of Arizona experts emphasized the individual is considered low risk and, at this time, has no symptoms.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s important to note that this individual is low risk. We don\u2019t have any information to believe that they have been directly exposed,\u201d ADHS said Thursday.<\/p>\n

Where in Arizona is the person?<\/h2>\n

ADHS said it is not disclosing where in Arizona the person is located. The agency said the individual\u2019s local health department has been notified and is working closely with state officials to evaluate any potential risk to the public.<\/p>\n

What is hantavirus \u2014 and how serious is it?<\/h2>\n

Hantavirus is not new to the Southwest. Over the past several decades, Arizona and surrounding states have seen outbreaks of hantavirus-related illness.<\/p>\n

Dr. Rajat Madan, the University of Arizona\u2019s chief of infectious diseases, said the virus can be severe once it progresses.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt can affect your kidneys, your lungs, and once it starts affecting your lungs and your heart, that is when it becomes very deadly,\u201d Madan said.<\/p>\n

Why experts think this may not be the strain typically seen in Arizona<\/h2>\n

Health experts in Tucson said the strain linked to the cruise outbreak is likely not the variant more commonly associated with the region.<\/p>\n

In Arizona, hantavirus infections have traditionally been tied to exposure to rodent droppings, particularly mice. But experts said the strain connected to the cruise outbreak is believed to be linked to Argentina and has shown a limited ability to spread from person to person.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis particular strain has been shown in the past to be more transmissible between human to human, but still, the degree is very low,\u201d Madan said.<\/p>\n

Cruise outbreak details<\/h2>\n

Health officials said the outbreak aboard the polar expedition cruise has been linked to three deaths and nine reported cases.<\/p>\n

Read more Tucson Police conducting death investigation near Grant, Oracle<\/a><\/p>\n

ADHS said it was notified Tuesday that a person who had been on the ship was now in Arizona. Public health officials said the person is being tested and monitored, but is not quarantined, and officials do not believe the individual had direct exposure to someone confirmed to be infected.<\/p>\n

Dr. Michael Worobey, head of the University of Arizona\u2019s Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, said that based on what is currently known, large-scale impacts in Arizona are unlikely.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think that Arizona is at risk of really any huge consequences for this outbreak and in all likelihood there will be no transmission from that person onto others,\u201d Worobey said.<\/p>\n

Other U.S. passengers being monitored<\/h2>\n

Some passengers who may have been exposed have returned to the United States, including two people in Georgia andone in Arizona, officials said. None have reported symptoms.<\/p>\n

Worobey noted that while person-to-person spread can occur with some variants, it is still considered limited.<\/p>\n

\u201cEach person who\u2019s infected can infect two other people,\u201d Worobey said.<\/p>\n

What health experts advise right now<\/h2>\n

Doctors said the best guidance is to follow official public health direction as the investigation continues.<\/p>\n

\u201cListen to what the public health authorities are saying and follow their lead,\u201d Madan said.<\/p>\n

ADHS said the Arizona resident is continuing to be tested and monitored and, as of the latest update, is not showing symptoms.<\/p>\n

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