Hantavirus and the Cruise Ship Incident: Clear, Simple Lessons

Three passengers have died and several others have fallen ill on the expedition ship MV Hondius during a voyage across the Atlantic. The ship had left Ushuaia, Argentina, and was sailing toward Cape Verde when the illnesses began. To date, one case of hantavirus infection has been laboratory confirmed, and five additional cases are suspected. One patient was evacuated to a hospital in South Africa and remained in intensive care. The ship’s operator, Oceanwide Expeditions, said it was managing a serious medical situation. The World Health Organization is facilitating medical evacuation and public health assessment.

Hantaviruses are a family of rodent-borne viruses that usually spread when people breathe dust contaminated with rodent urine or droppings. Early symptoms are like the flu, with fever, muscle aches, headache, and cough, and respiratory problems can develop quickly. The incubation period is commonly one to five weeks. There is no specific antiviral treatment, and about 38 percent of severe cases may be fatal. Therefore, people with respiratory symptoms after travel should seek medical help promptly. Although person-to-person spread is rare, some Andes virus strains have been linked to limited human transmission.