An adult Colorado resident has died from hantavirus, state and county health officials reported on Saturday.
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) said it’s investigating the incident and said the Douglas County case is not linked to the MV Hondius cruise ship outbreak.
Early findings suggest the person was exposed to the virus locally through contact with rodents, which is the most common source of hantavirus in Colorado, according to CDPHE. The agency did not identify the Douglas County resident nor provide a date as to when the person died.
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State health officials said Sin Nombre hantavirus infections occur regularly in Colorado, usually in the spring and summer, and can cause a severe, sometimes deadly respiratory disease.
Hantaviruses have been around for centuries and are thought to be widespread worldwide. The disease gained renewed attention last year after the late actor Gene Hackman ’s wife, Betsy Arakawa, died from a hantavirus infection in New Mexico.
The virus usually spreads when people inhale contaminated residue of rodent droppings. But the hantavirus that has caused the cruise ship outbreak, called the Andes virus, may be able to spread between people in rare cases.
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CDPHE says avoiding exposure to rodents and their urine, feces, saliva, and nesting materials is the best way to prevent infection. The state health agency said the risk to the general public remains low, and the investigation is ongoing.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Colorado has recorded about 121 total hantavirus cases from 1993 to 2023.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
This story was originally published by Robert Garrison with the Scripps News Group in Denver.
