Advertisement SKIP ADVERTISEMENT You have a preview view of this article while we are checking your access. When we have confirmed access, the full article content will load. Here’s what to know about the virus, how it spreads and the risk to the general public. Credit... -/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images May 6, 2026, 3:19 p.m. ET An outbreak of hantavirus aboard a cruise ship in the Atlantic Ocean has heightened concerns about the rare but deadly virus . Public health officials say that the threat to the general public remains low based on what we know about the virus and how it spreads. The outbreak involves the Andes strain of the virus. There are many different strains of hantavirus, said Dr. Gaby Frank, director of the Johns Hopkins Special Pathogens Center in Baltimore. Laboratory testing has shown that the cruise outbreak involves the Andes strain, which is endemic to South America, including Argentina, where the ship departed on April 1. Dr.…