Health Department shares safety tips amid growing Hantavirus concerns

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (KQTV) — Concerns about Hantavirus are growing after the World Health Organization confirmed eight cases and three deaths among passengers and crew members aboard the MV Hondius.

Hantaviruses are a group of viruses carried by rodents that can cause severe disease in humans. Humans can contract the virus through contact with infected rodents, including rats and mice.

The virus can be contracted through exposure to urine, droppings, saliva or contaminated dust from a rodent.

Kristi Billings, interim clinic supervisor at the St. Joseph Health Department, said normally, the virus does not spread from person to person; however, the Andes strain found in South America can.

"The one that is going national right now that everyone is hearing about it, is person to person. It can be, but again it's through contact same thing with salvia, secretion from that person," Billings said. "You have to be in the same environment with them for a long period of time."

The symptoms of Hantavirus are similar to the flu.

"Fever, cough and vomiting, any of those symptoms, it wouldn't hurt to get evaluated," she said.

The first symptoms can appear between four and 42 days after exposure, but they may develop later in some cases.

"When you start to getting the cough or shortness of breath, that usually means the symptoms have worsened, and you may not know you have them to begin with," she said. "You need to get medical attention immediately."

If you are feeling ill, Billings said, don't panic.

"Get checked out, if you have to clean excrement up, use all the precautions that are told," she said. "If you're going to travel, use those same precautions, be cautious of what you're doing."

KQ2 previously reported that the Kansas Department of Health and Environment and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were monitoring three individuals with high-risk exposure to a person with confirmed Andes hantavirus.