HEALTH
State health officials: Unlike cruise ship strain, Four Corners hantavirus 'cannot spread from person to person'
No New Mexicans were aboard the ship, and residents shouldn't worry about the Andes strain here, DOH says
SANTA FE 鈥� After a rare, communicable form of hantavirus spread among passengers aboard an Atlantic cruise ship last month, state health officials on Wednesday said New Mexico residents have little risk of being infected by the outbreak.
Investigators say the Andes virus 鈥� the only form of hantavirus known to spread from person to person 鈥� killed three passengers aboard the MV Hondius in April as it set out on a voyage of the South Atlantic.
The virus has spread to up to 11 people as a result of the outbreak and is believed to have originated in Ushuaia, Argentina, where the strain is endemic and the cruise ship departed on April 1.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Andes virus is carried by rodents and can transfer from an infected person to a healthy individual through 鈥渄irect physical contact, prolonged time spent in close or enclosed spaces, and exposure to the sick person鈥檚 body fluids.鈥�
But the New Mexico Department of Health said that the Sin Nombre species of the virus found in the Four Corners region of the western U.S. is distinct from the South American variant making international headlines this spring.
A key difference is that the form of hantavirus commonly carried by deer mice in the Southwest, while often deadly, does not transmit from person to person, according to the agency.
鈥淣ew Mexico鈥檚 strain 鈥擲in Nombre hantavirus鈥攊s transmitted through contact with infected rodents, such as when droppings or nests are disturbed and virus particles become airborne,鈥� a news release the agency issued Wednesday reads. 鈥淪in Nombre virus does not spread between people.鈥�
New Mexico began investigating Sin Nombre hantavirus cases following an outbreak in the Four Corners region in 1993. The incident infected 33 people in the area, 17 of whom died as a result of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome 鈥� a more than 50% fatality rate.
Cases have been recorded in New Mexico nearly every year, with 142 hantavirus pulmonary syndrome cases and 55 deaths between 1975 and 2025, according to the Department of Health.
Seven cases were recorded in New Mexico in 2025, and
There are 36 recognized species of hantaviruses, about half of which are known to infect humans, according to the National Collaborating Centre for Infectious Diseases.
Infections are often deadly, with up to a 50% fatality rate in the Americas,
The Andes strain, endemic to Argentina and Chile, is also spread by rodents and 鈥渓ess commonly, by other infected people,鈥� according to the CDC, which said on Tuesday that the risk to the American public and travelers from the recent outbreak 鈥渞emains extremely low.鈥�
While fears of another pandemic remain high just six years outside the onset of the COVID-19 outbreak, the CDC said there is little risk that hantavirus will result in a similar health emergency.
Eighteen Americans aboard the MV Hondius returned to the U.S. on Monday after more than half of the passengers evacuated offshore the Spanish Canary Island of Tenerife on May 10, according to The Associated Press.
One American passenger tested positive for hantavirus but was asymptomatic. None were from New Mexico, according to the New Mexico Department of Health. All remain under strict quarantine and are being monitored by health officials.
A Dutch man, his wife and a German woman died after falling ill with the Andes strain of the virus aboard the 170-person MV Hondius, which had set course for the South Atlantic in early April, but rerouted to the Canary Islands.
鈥淎ndes hantavirus is not new; it has been recognized since the mid-1990s,鈥� said Dr. Erin Phipps, New Mexico Department of Health state public health veterinarian. 鈥淣ew Mexicans should not worry about the Andes virus in the state.鈥�
John Miller is the sa国际传媒官网网页入口鈥檚 northern New Mexico correspondent. He can be reached at jmiller@abqjournal.com.
