CA, AZ residents quarantined after hantavirus exposure

(The Center Square) - Four California residents and one Arizona resident are in quarantine after potential exposure to an outbreak of a rare hantavirus disease that stemmed from a cruise ship. None of the Southwestern residents, who were passengers on the MV Hondius (now on its way to the Dutch city of Rotterdam), have shown symptoms of the disease. But state officials said they would remain under quarantine for up to 42 days. “The risk to the general public is extremely low right now,” California Public Health Director Erica Pan told reporters Tuesday. She added that the disease has been documented to spread human-to-human under close contact. “We are learning more and more about this cruise ship outbreak, which is certainly concerning and unique, but it's a relatively small cruise ship with very close quarters. It certainly seems like a lot of close contact has actually happened on that ship.” As the roughly 150 passengers onboard the M