Health
Two Maryland residents monitored for hantavirus after sharing flight with infected cruise ship passenger
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Two Maryland residents are being monitored for potential hantavirus exposure, according to the Maryland Department of Health.
Health officials said the Maryland residents were on a flight that included a passenger from the MV Hondius cruise ship who was infected with hantavirus.
Health authorities said they are taking these steps out of an abundance of caution. At this time, the risk to the public in Maryland remains “very low,” state health officials said.
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View of the cruise ship MV Hondius docked in the port of Granadilla before setting course for the Netherlands, on 11 May, 2026 in Granadilla de Abona, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain. (Europa Press Canarias via Getty Images)
Maryland health officials said the two residents with potential hantavirus exposure were not on the MV Hondius cruise ship, but they were on a flight abroad with a passenger who has the virus.
The department declined to provide additional details about the residents, citing a need to protect their privacy.
Medical staff direct some of the last passengers to be evacuated from the MV Hondius on May 11, 2026 in Tenerife, part of the Canary Islands, Spain. (Chris McGrath/Getty Images)
The two Maryland residents are being monitored during the virus’s incubation period, which can range from four to 42 days. Officials said asymptomatic individuals are not considered infectious.
No hantavirus cases have been reported in Maryland since 2019, and Andes virus infections have never been identified in the state, officials said. Health authorities said they are coordinating with federal and international partners as the situation continues to evolve.
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American passengers from the cruise ship MV Hondius arrived in Omaha, Neb., on Monday, May 11, 2026, after flying from Tenerife, Spain. The ship was stricken with hantavirus. (Nick Ingram/AP)
According to the Maryland Department of Health, hantavirus is typically spread through contact with infected rodents, but the strain tied to the cruise ship – the Andes virus – is the only known type capable of person-to-person transmission.
“The hantaviruses that are found throughout the United States are not known to spread between people,” the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said.
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Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) is a rare infectious disease that starts with flu-like symptoms and can quickly progress to life-threatening lung and heart problems. Several hantavirus strains can cause the illness, also known as hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome, according to Mayo Clinic.
Early symptoms of HPS can include fatigue, fever and muscle aches, with about half of all patients also experiencing headaches, dizziness, chills and abdominal problems, like nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, according to the CDC.
HPS has a nearly 40% fatality rate in those who are infected, according to the CDC. Similar hantavirus cases have been reported in Arizona, California and Georgia.
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Health
Switching from cigarettes to vapes linked to higher risk of major eye diseases, large study finds
US cigarette smoking drops to record low, vaping and nicotine pouch use surges
Fox News medical analyst Dr. Marc Siegel discusses a New England Journal of Medicine study reporting US adult cigarette smoking rates dropped to a record low of 9.9% in 2024. Siegel warns about the addictive nature of vaping and nicotine pouches, which contain high levels of nicotine. He expresses concern over potential GI tract and heart issues, stressing social media’s role in promoting these products to younger generations.
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Switching from cigarettes to electronic vapes is often seen as a healthier move, but a massive nationwide study published in the American Journal of Ophthalmology suggests that smokeless alternatives could increase the risk of serious eye diseases compared to quitting nicotine altogether.
Researchers from the Korea University College of Medicine in Seoul, South Korea, analyzed health data from a group of 179,273 adults through the Korean National Health Insurance Service, according to a press release.
All participants had smoked traditional cigarettes between 2011 and 2012 and then quit smoking by 2018 or 2019, they reported.
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To ensure a fair comparison, the researchers paired up participants who shared similar backgrounds, including their age, gender, medical history, existing health conditions and general lifestyle habits.
Switching from cigarettes to electronic vapes is often seen as a healthier move, but a large study suggests it could pose a risk to eye health. (iStock)
This process created a balanced group of 32,316 matched participants, who were divided into two categories: complete quitters who stopped using all nicotine products and those who transitioned to smokeless nicotine products, such as vapes.
The researchers followed the participants for an average of 4.6 years to determine whether they developed eye conditions, including cataracts, glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy and focus-related eyesight disorders.
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Over the tracking period, the group experienced a total of 6,328 major eye disease events. People who quit nicotine entirely had the lowest disease rate in the study, at 41.1 cases per 1,000 person-years (a measure that accounts for both the number of people in the study and how long they were followed).
In comparison, that rate rose to 44 cases for individuals who had switched over to smokeless alternatives like vapes.
The people included in the study were divided into two main categories: complete quitters who stopped using all nicotine products, and switchers who transitioned to smokeless tobacco or nicotine products, like vapes. (iStock)
Ultimately, the data showed that switching to alternative nicotine products carried a steady 7% increased risk of serious eye diseases compared to quitting nicotine completely.
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Most notably, those who switched faced a 24% higher risk of developing diabetic retinopathy, a condition that damages the blood vessels in the light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye.
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Additionally, those who ditched cigarettes for vapes had a 7% higher risk of developing refractive and accommodation disorders, which affect the eye’s ability to focus clearly.
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“These findings challenge the assumption that substituting noncombustible nicotine or tobacco products for conventional cigarettes is visually harmless,” the researchers noted.
“These findings challenge the assumption that substituting noncombustible nicotine or tobacco products for conventional cigarettes is visually harmless,” the researchers noted. (iStock)
The authors did point out a few limitations of the research. Because this was a study looking back at health insurance data, it cannot definitively prove that vaping directly causes eye damage.
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Additionally, the study relied on people filling out questionnaires about their own smoking and vaping habits, which can sometimes lead to underreporting or simple memory errors.
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Still, the researchers concluded the findings suggest that replacing cigarettes with alternative nicotine products may not eliminate the risk of certain eye diseases.
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