Three Dead in Hantavirus Outbreak on MV Hondius en Route to Tenerife

Three passengers aboard the MV Hondius have died from an outbreak of Andes hantavirus, a rare rodent-borne virus that can spread between people in close contact. The Dutch-flagged ship, which left Argentina on April 1 for an Antarctic cruise, is expected to arrive in Tenerife in Spain's Canary Islands on Sunday.

Spanish authorities are preparing to receive more than 140 remaining passengers and crew, who will be moved to a completely isolated, cordoned-off area for health checks and testing. The outbreak has been linked to nine cases so far, five of them laboratory confirmed.

A German passenger died aboard the ship on May 2, with the body still on board. Argentina is investigating whether the virus originated there during a pre-cruise birdwatching trip taken by two passengers. The country consistently ranks highest in hantavirus incidence in Latin America according to the World Health Organization.

Officials are working to trace the contamination source while noting that some passengers have already returned home, including to the United States.

12 countries have been linked to the outbreak, prompting a global effort to locate and monitor passengers. The UN health agency has confirmed at least five cases and is coordinating contact tracing with the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.

Two doctors and infectious disease experts remain aboard the vessel, where morale has improved since it began heading toward Tenerife. Those who test negative and show no symptoms will board a dedicated repatriation flight staffed by medical professionals.

They will then undergo 45 days of self-isolation and monitoring without using public transport. The United States has not mounted a visible federal response, drawing criticism from public health experts. Health departments in five states — Arizona, California, Georgia, Texas and Virginia — have identified former passengers and are monitoring them for symptoms.

The incubation period can last up to eight weeks. Studies from Chile show an 18 percent risk to sex partners but only 1 percent to other household members. Experts emphasize that casual contact does not transmit the virus. " No indication of wider community spread has been found.

Officials warn, however, that additional cases could still emerge given the long incubation period. There are no specific treatments for hantavirus. The outbreak has been described by one publication as a wake-up call to develop therapies. Scientists are also checking whether the virus has mutated, though no evidence of increased transmissibility has appeared.

Memes and videos have circulated widely, though virologists stress the epidemiological differences. Hantavirus is not novel like SARS-CoV-2 and does not spread easily beyond intimate contacts. The MV Hondius had been held off Cape Verde before resuming its voyage.

Passengers who left earlier in St. Helena and Tristan da Cunha are also being monitored. Health officials in multiple nations continue to track all known contacts from the roughly 150 people originally aboard.