Has hantavirus been found in Tennessee? Here’s what Nashville health officials say about the risk of an outbreak.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) - There are now 11 confirmed cases of hantavirus globally on top of the three people who died on the cruise ship.

In the United States, 18 people are isolating, including two at a hospital in Atlanta, but health officials do not expect an outbreak in Nashville.

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Metro Public Health Department leaders said hantavirus is very different than COVID, so it isn’t expected to spread through crowds on Lower Broadway.

Has hantavirus been found in Tennessee?

Tennessee has only seen two cases of hantavirus between 1993 and 2023, the latest year of data. But after the outbreak on the cruise ship, Metro leaders are getting ready for any possible cases.

Health Department Director Dr. Sanmi Areola said they’ve been monitoring the situation for more than a week.

“There is really no risk to our residents. We don’t have any contact with anyone who was on the ship,” Areola said. “But in regards to being able to handle incidents like that, we do this every day. We have staff that are trained. We’re well equipped to handle that.”

Areola said he’s been talking with the CDC about the situation for more than a week and Nashville should not have anyone with connections to the ship.

“The risk of hantavirus related to this particular incident does not exist,” he said.

What states in the U.S. have hantavirus?

NBC News is reporting health officials are monitoring possible exposures in close to a dozen states. That includes California, Texas, North Carolina and Georgia. These are either in passengers who left the cruise earlier or people who came into contact with passengers while they were traveling home.

“They are being monitored and their movement is being restricted,” Areola said. “People become infectious really when they start to show symptoms of it, so there are different degrees of risk.”

How easy is it to catch hantavirus?

Areola said hantavirus mainly spreads through rodents. Most previous cases in the U.S. are from mouse droppings in homes that were not properly cleaned up.

He said a cruise ship is the perfect place for it to spread between humans with the close contact. Even if someone had it on Lower Broadway, there is too much fresh air for more people to catch the virus.

The contact tracing is very similar to what Metro Health does for things like measles. Areola said dealing with hantavirus is not new to public health.

“Even though we haven’t found it here, we have dealt with cases of hantavirus of Americans that traveled and coming here. Hantavirus is not new. Dealing with it is not new to public health,” he said. “We have done this for years. We have the structure in place. We have the trainings in place.”

It could take up to six weeks for people to get symptoms after they’re exposed to the virus, Areola said, so health officials will stay on alert until the risk is gone.