It’s been a minute since the world has had to focus its attention on a microscopic germ, but that’s exactly what has happened in the wake of a deadly hantavirus outbreak aboard the cruise ship MV Hondius . As of May 12 , there have been 11 probable or confirmed cases of hantavirus connected to the ship outbreak, along with three linked deaths. One of these victims, a French woman, is currently in critical condition . All of the cases so far have occurred among passengers and crew, but health officials are tracking and testing people who came into contact with infected people outside the cruise, particularly a Dutch woman who boarded two flights after leaving the ship in late April. Hantaviruses typically are zoonotic (animal-to-human) diseases that spread through contact with infected rodents or their droppings. This outbreak, however, is being caused by a species that can be transmitted between people, the Andes virus.…