The CDC has stressed that the risk to public health is 'extremely low,' but if you're concerned about hantavirus, there are a few ways to protect yourself at home If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Rolling Stone may receive an affiliate commission. Fears of a new pandemic are spreading following the deaths of three people aboard a cruise ship in the Atlantic Ocean. At least five passengers on the Dutch vessel MV Hondius were confirmed to have hantavirus (officially Orthohantavirus ), a strain of deadly viruses spread through contact with rodents or their droppings. Of the three passengers who died, one of them — a 69-year-old Dutch woman — was confirmed to have had the virus. The cases of her Dutch husband and a German woman, who both also died, are still being investigated. A flight attendant who came into contact with the Dutch woman at the airport, meanwhile, has been hospitalized with a suspected hantavirus infection.…