Health officials stressed that different strains of hantavirus are less contagious than the one on the Dutch cruise ship.

Hantaviruses remain on the minds of  New York-area residents after a deadly outbreak aboard a foreign cruise ship and a suspected new infection in the Finger Lakes region. A rare strain of hantavirus has been blamed for the deaths of three passengers aboard the cruise ship MV Hondius,

There’s no indication that the New Yorker was returning to the U.S. But public health experts said the city and state still should have been informed.

The virus is clearly far less contagious than the coronavirus, scientists agree, but they have found cases where it spread among people without direct contact.

Ticks can be found in many areas across New York. Although ticks are still active in cooler temperatures, spring and approaching higher temperatures increase the likelihood of exposure. Bites from an infected tick can transmit several diseases, including Lyme disease, the most commonly reported tick-borne disease within New York.