This is a developing story and will be updated as new information is released. One confirmed and five suspected cases of hantavirus infection have struck passengers of a cruise ship in the Atlantic Ocean. Hantaviruses are a family of viruses typically carried and spread by rodents. People can catch the germs if they are exposed to the urine, droppings or saliva of infected animals, or rarely, if an infected animal bites them . One type of hantavirus, called the Andes virus , is capable of spreading from an infected person to other people, but such cases of human-to-human transmission have been rare. The specific type of hantavirus involved in the cruise ship cases has not been disclosed. Hantaviruses can cause two types of serious infection: hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) and hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS).…