The Illinois Department of Public Health is investigating a potential hantavirus case in Winnebago County, not linked to an outbreak on a cruise ship, the agency said Tuesday.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is conducting additional testing.
The CDC said its test results could take up to 10 days.
It is believed the Illinois resident acquired the virus while cleaning a home where rodent droppings were present, IDPH said.
“Typically, we see it in cases like this one, where someone was cleaning an area where rats may have dwelled, and it may have aerosolized the either urine or feces from the rat that contain the virus,” said Saint Anthony Hospital Infectious Disease Specialist Dr. Alfredo Mena Lora.
The person did not require hospitalization and is recovering after experiencing mild symptoms, IDPH said.
The North American strain of the hantavirus is not spread from person-to-person, IDPH said. This is different from the Andes strain associated with the MV Hondius cruise ship.
The risk of contracting hantavirus of any kind remains very low for Illinois residents, IDPH said.
Orkin, a nationwide pest control company, says they have specific protocols in place when dealing with wildlife and rodent droppings to help mitigate potential spread.
Pest experts advise homeowners to spray disinfectant before sweeping rodent droppings away.
“This is not your typical house mouse,” Orkin Entomologist and National Technical Director Shannon Sked said. “Norway rat, roof rat, which are most of the commensal rodents that we work with in the pest control environment… In the area in the Midwest, it’s those ones that come in in the winter and over winter and then go back out into the that the farm fields in the summer.”
Winnebago County includes Rockford, Illinois.
Excluding this latest potential case, Illinois has had seven positive cases of hantavirus since 1993, most recently in March 2025.
