Hantavirus Outbreak Linked to Cruise Ship in South Atlantic

A cluster of hantavirus cases has been reported among passengers on a cruise ship that traveled from Tierra del Fuego off the coast of southern Argentina through the South Atlantic to St. Helena's Island and later to Rotterdam in Holland. The outbreak involves the Andes strain of the virus.

This strain differs from the Sin Nombre strain found in the American Southwest because it can spread from person to person in close contact.

At least 11 confirmed or suspected cases have been linked to the cruise, including three deaths. Investigators are still determining how the first two individuals became infected, possibly through contact with rodent urine or feces while visiting wild bird populations before boarding.

The ship carried about 150 people. Some passengers, around 30, disembarked early and flew home, while others continued to Rotterdam. Health authorities are monitoring exposed individuals through quarantine or isolation for up to six weeks.

Expert Assessment Dr.

Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, said the outbreak is unlikely to expand significantly. The virus has an incubation period of three to four weeks, and the epidemic is already in its sixth or seventh week.

Hotez stated that the situation does not represent a pandemic or a coronavirus epidemic. He described the event as a zoonotic spillover, where a virus transmits from an animal host, such as a rodent, to a human. Symptoms typically begin with fever, headache, and extreme fatigue before progressing rapidly to a condition requiring intensive care.

The fatality rate for hantavirus pulmonary syndrome is around 30 percent.