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The World Health Organization (WHO) has reported a deadly outbreak of hantavirus, a rare virus carried by rodents, that has claimed the lives of several passengers on a cruise ship.
The organization was alerted on May 2 about a cluster of hantavirus infections aboard the Dutch ship, MV Hondius. The ship had embarked on a journey eastward across the Atlantic from Argentina in April.
“So far, eight cases have been reported, including three deaths,” WHO Director General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus shared during a media briefing on May 7. “Five of the eight cases have been confirmed as hantavirus, and the other three are suspected.”
Dr. Ghebreyesus noted that “Hantaviruses are a group of viruses associated with rodents, which can lead to severe illness in humans.” Infection typically occurs through contact with infected rodents or exposure to their urine, droppings, or saliva. The particular strain involved in this outbreak is the Andes virus, which is native to Latin America and is uniquely capable of limited human-to-human transmission.
The World Health Organization details that the first of the eight recorded cases involved an adult male passenger. He began experiencing symptoms like fever, headache, and mild diarrhea on April 6, five days after the vessel departed from Argentina. By April 11, his condition had escalated to respiratory distress, and he tragically passed away that same day.
Dr. Ghebreyesus mentioned, “Due to the similarity of his symptoms to other respiratory illnesses, hantavirus was not initially considered a possibility.”
Nearly two weeks later, on April 24, the man’s body was removed from the ship as it docked on Saint Helena. The man’s widow, who was also symptomatic, disembarked on the island at the time.
The next day, her health “deteriorated” during a flight to Johannesburg, per Dr. Ghebreyesus, and she died on April 26. Samples taken by scientists in South Africa confirmed she had suffered from hantavirus.
The third death, per WHO, was an adult female passenger who developed symptoms on the ship on April 28 and succumbed to them four days later.
Another passenger who reported to the ship’s doctor on April 24 is currently in intensive care in South Africa, the organization confirmed. Meanwhile, three other passengers who fell ill aboard the ship received care from Cabo Verde doctors and have since been evacuated to the Netherlands for further treatment.
The eighth hantavirus case comes from a man who disembarked in Saint Helena and later self-reported symptoms once in Switzerland.
“None of the remaining passengers or crew on the ship are currently symptomatic,” Dr. Ghebreyesus said. He added that due to the Andes virus’ six-week incubation period, more cases may be reported, but assured that WHO currently assesses the health risk to the general public as “low.”
“We believe this will be a limited outbreak if the public health measures are implemented and solidarity is shown across all countries,” WHO’s alert and response director Dr. Abdirahman Mahamud said at the media briefing.
“This is not the next COVID, but it is a serious infectious disease,” the WHO’s director of epidemic and pandemic preparedness Maria Van Kerkhove told the Associated Press. “Most people will never be exposed to this.”
As Dr. Ghebreyesus noted, the WHO’s priority is “to ensure the affected patients receive care, that the remaining passengers on the ship are kept safe and treated with dignity, and to prevent any further spread of the virus.”
According to Oceanwide Expeditions, the company operating the cruise, the situation aboard the ship “remains calm, and guest and crew continue to follow procedures, now under the guidance of the medical team.”
The ship is tentatively expected to arrive at a port on the Spanish island of Tenerife on May 10, the company noted, adding that preparations for quarantine and screening for those aboard are being organized by multiple international organizations.
The Center for Disease Control also announced that the public health agency has been “closely monitoring the situation with U.S. travelers onboard” the ship.
“The Department of State is leading a coordinated, whole-of-government response,” their May 6 statement noted, “including direct contact with passengers, diplomatic coordination, and engagement with domestic and international health authorities.”
“At this time, the risk to the American public is extremely low,” the CDC added. “We urge all Americans aboard the ship to follow the guidance of health officials as we work to bring you home safely.”
Investigations into the outbreak are ongoing, the WHO noted in a news release.