The MV Hondius cruise ship has had three fatalities and eight suspected cases of the hantavirus|Scientific Animations|CC BY-SA 4.0
The outbreak of hantavirus on a cruise ship carrying over 150 passengers from across the world is something that is getting a serious response from officials.
Global health authorities are urgently tracing down dozens of passengers of 12 nationalities who disembarked the MV Hondius cruise ship last month, before the infections were confirmed.
Tracking efforts include 6 US citizens.
The cruise, which departed Argentina on April 1, has had three fatalities and five more people fell ill. The World Health Organization (WHO) has confirmed five cases to date through lab testing.
On April 24, the Dutch-operated ship saw 29 passengers exit the vessel during its port of call in Saint Helena, along with the body of a single deceased passenger. They weren’t given any isolation measures, and health organizations are worried about the risk of transmission of the disease, which has a mortality rate of up to 50%.
Hantavirus is typically contracted by coming into contact with rodent droppings or by inhaling particles containing it. Person-to-person spread is considered rare, but people can transmit the Andes variant through physical contact, and several passengers on the Hondius tested positive for it.
Close physical contact can help spread the Andes variant between people.
No FDA-approved vaccine or dedicated treatment currently exists for the disease, though development efforts continue.
Currently, the ship is headed to Spain’s Canary Islands, where remaining passengers will be evaluated without public contact and will be asked to isolate themselves.
The WHO maintains the public health risk is low and ruled out a COVID-19-scale pandemic. Still, the virus’s six-week incubation period remains a concern for many.