California is included in a global search to locate passengers who left a cruise ship linked to a deadly outbreak of hantavirus. Three passengers, including a Dutch couple and a German national, died and at least eight others fell ill after contracting the virus on the MV Hondius. Over two dozen passengers had already left the ship without full contact tracing and are now being tracked to determine if secondary spread has occurred. The World Health Organization has stated that the overall public risk remains low, although concern has increased due to the Andes strain found in South America, which is the only variant known to allow limited person-to-person transmission. In the US, hantivirus remains rare but highly dangerous, with over 300 deaths since 1993.