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WHO Confirms Five Hantavirus Cases on Atlantic Cruise Ship
The World Health Organization has confirmed five cases of hantavirus, including three deaths, linked to the MV Hondius cruise ship. Officials assess the public health risk as low and say the outbreak is not the start of a new pandemic. The Andes strain involved can transmit between people but only through prolonged close contact.
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The World Health Organization confirmed five cases of hantavirus linked to the MV Hondius cruise ship in the Atlantic Ocean, with three deaths reported so far and three additional suspected cases. Officials said at a press briefing on Thursday that the public health risk remains low despite the possibility of more cases due to the virus's long incubation period.
The ship, which was sailing from Cape Verde toward Tenerife in Spain's Canary Islands, carried 147 passengers and crew from 23 nationalities. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters the agency had been notified by the UK of a cluster of passengers with severe respiratory illness.
While describing the incident as serious, he emphasized that the overall threat to wider public health is low. The strain identified is the Andes virus, the only hantavirus known to be capable of limited human-to-human transmission.
The first death occurred in a man who developed symptoms on April 6 and died five days later. No samples were taken at the time because symptoms resembled those of other viruses. His wife became the second victim after going ashore in Saint Helena, where she became symptomatic and died on April 25.
A third woman developed symptoms on April 25 and died seven days later. Before boarding the ship the first two victims had traveled in Chile, Argentina and Uruguay on a bird-watching trip that included sites known to harbor rats carrying hantavirus.
Argentine authorities are investigating the couple's movements. The virus is typically transmitted to humans through contact with infected rodents, their urine, droppings or saliva. The Andes strain has been found in Latin America and is associated with limited person-to-person spread during prolonged close interactions such as those among household members, intimate partners or healthcare workers.
Previous clusters have shown transmission mainly during the early symptomatic phase rather than before symptoms appear. Experts noted the median incubation period is 18 days, with a range of seven to 39 days. This slower progression compared with respiratory viruses like SARS-CoV-2 gives public health officials more time to identify cases and implement isolation measures.
