hantavirus outbreak – Health authorities track confirmed and suspected hantavirus cases tied to MV Hondius as the ship heads to Tenerife and repatriation begins.
A viral outbreak with a long, quiet incubation period is now forcing multiple countries to move fast: health authorities are tracing hantavirus cases linked to the cruise ship MV Hondius as it heads to Tenerife.
The World Health Organization said it has identified five confirmed infections among people connected to the vessel. prompting an international response aimed at tracing contacts and preventing further spread.. Hantavirus is typically associated with rodents. but WHO says the circumstances aboard the ship raise the possibility of limited human-to-human transmission.
According to WHO, three people connected to the outbreak have died, with several others sick. Still, the organization says the situation remains a low risk to the general public.
As the ship continues its journey, the immediate focus is on what will happen next on arrival.. Spanish authorities plan a full epidemiological investigation and disinfection after the MV Hondius docks in Tenerife in the Canary Islands. where WHO believes the port has the right conditions for passengers to disembark safely.
By the numbers on board, Oceanwide Exploration reported that as of Friday there were 147 people aboard the MV Hondius: 87 passengers and 60 crew members. The crew and passengers also represent a broad range of backgrounds, with 24 nationalities onboard, including 17 Americans.
Tracing has been a central part of the response, and it extends beyond the ship itself.. Authorities said they were completing additional contact tracing of 82 passengers and six crew members from an April 25 Airlink flight to Johannesburg from Saint Helena. after a Dutch woman who had been on the ship took that flight before she died.
Air travel links have also helped shape how countries assess exposure risk.. KLM said authorities in the Netherlands reached out to an undisclosed number of passengers on a second flight in Johannesburg that the Dutch woman had briefly boarded.. She left the 11:15 p.m.. flight. KL592. before it took off because she was too ill to fly. and WHO said a flight attendant who experienced symptoms tested negative.
In the United Kingdom, British health authorities said Friday that two UK nationals have confirmed hantavirus cases. Officials also reported an additional suspected case among a British national who disembarked the ship on the island of Tristan da Cunha.
Switzerland’s case review, meanwhile, centers on another chain of movement.. Switzerland’s health ministry said it is carrying out additional contact tracing for people who came into contact with a passenger who left the MV Hondius in late April and is being treated at a Swiss hospital.. The passenger’s wife—who was also on the trip—has not reported symptoms and is isolating as a precaution.
In the United States, officials described monitoring efforts for people who had already left the ship.. Five states—Arizona. California. Georgia. Texas and Virginia—said they are monitoring seven people who had disembarked. and none is showing signs of illness.. New Jersey said it is monitoring two exposed people. and Utah reported that at least one passenger from the ship is from that state.
Public health tracking is also covering people who left earlier and for multiple destinations.. Governments are tracking at least 30 passengers who disembarked at Saint Helena in late April and others who went through other ports. leaving for a variety of countries before the outbreak was fully understood.
WHO said that as of Friday there were six confirmed cases, along with two suspected ones. The three deaths connected to the cluster include two passengers who became ill after reaching land and one person who was sick onboard.
One of the fatalities involved a Dutch man.. The South African Health Department reported that on April 6. a 70-year-old Dutch man suddenly became ill aboard the ship with fever. headache. abdominal pain and diarrhea.. He went into respiratory distress on April 11 and died onboard that day, according to the report.. His body was removed to Saint Helena on April 24. but no microbiological tests were performed at the time. leaving him classified as a probable case.
The second death described by WHO is linked to the man’s wife.. On April 24, the 69-year-old woman went ashore at Saint Helena with stomach problems, then flew to Johannesburg.. WHO said her condition deteriorated while she was still on board. and she collapsed while trying to fly home to the Netherlands.. She died at a nearby hospital on April 26.. On May 4, molecular tests confirmed she had hantavirus.
The third death is associated with a German woman. WHO said she developed fever and malaise on April 28, later developed pneumonia, and died May 2 onboard the ship. A postmortem sample tested in the Netherlands confirmed that she had the Andes strain of hantavirus.
Public health timelines are also being used to understand how the cluster may have developed. WHO said the first passenger in the chain is believed to have developed symptoms on April 6, while the last person to develop symptoms became sick on April 28.
Additional individual case details show a pattern of symptoms surfacing across both passengers and ship staff.. One man reported to the ship’s doctor on April 24 with fever, shortness of breath and signs of pneumonia.. His condition worsened on April 26 and he was evacuated the following day to South Africa. where he remained in intensive care.. Initial tests for hantavirus were negative, but on May 2, a molecular test confirmed an Andes hantavirus infection.
WHO also reported that a ship doctor developed symptoms April 30 and tested positive for the Andes virus on May 6.. The doctor was evacuated to the Netherlands the same day and was in stable condition in isolation.. A ship guide similarly reported mild respiratory and gastrointestinal symptoms on April 27. later tested positive for Andes virus on May 6. and was evacuated to the Netherlands where they were also stable in isolation.
Outside the ship, another confirmed case followed a departure from Saint Helena.. WHO said a man disembarked at Saint Helena on April 22. returned to Switzerland via South Africa and Qatar. and noticed symptoms on May 1.. He isolated himself and notified local health authorities. then tested positive for the Andes virus on May 5 and was in isolation in a Swiss hospital.
On Tristan da Cunha, a man who left the ship on April 14 is considered a probable case. WHO reported his symptoms began April 28 and he is in stable condition in isolation.
While officials continue tracing potential exposures, medical support onboard is being reinforced. The tour operator said two specialist doctors from the Netherlands arrived on Wednesday and would remain with the vessel, and that another doctor was already on board.
The ship’s schedule is also shaping planning.. Oceanwide Expeditions said the MV Hondius left Cape Verde at 7:15 p.m.. local time Wednesday and is traveling north toward the Canary Islands.. The journey is expected to take three to four days. with arrival at the port of Granadilla. Tenerife. expected in the early hours of Sunday. May 10.
Repatriation and quarantine plans are already taking shape.. Seventeen American passengers are expected to be escorted to the United States by a team from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention via a chartered flight. with quarantine planned in Nebraska after return.. Spanish authorities said 14 Spanish passengers on board would be transported to a military hospital after examination. and the remaining passengers would be repatriated according to Spain’s health minister. Mónica García.
Officials are still investigating how the cluster began.. WHO believes the Dutch couple and possibly others were infected before joining the cruise on April 1. potentially during activities in Argentina. where hantavirus is endemic.. WHO’s Dr.. Maria Van Kerkhove said sequencing of the virus from infected people confirmed the cases were caused by the Andes strain of hantavirus.
The Andes strain carries a key feature that has guided the WHO assessment: it is considered the only type of hantavirus known to have limited human-to-human transmission.. WHO also explained that hantavirus typically incubates for one to six weeks after exposure. with symptoms potentially appearing as early as one week or as late as eight weeks.
Hantavirus is described as rare but extremely deadly, particularly in forms that affect the lungs. The CDC says that hantavirus pulmonary syndrome can be caused by the hantavirus found in the Americas, and about 38% of people who develop respiratory symptoms may die.
Treatment and prevention remain major concerns.. WHO says there is no vaccine that prevents hantavirus and no specific treatment. but early supportive care and prompt referral to an intensive care unit can improve survival.. WHO has classified hantaviruses as an emerging priority because infections can be so serious.
WHO stressed that human-to-human transmission due to the Andes virus is rare and has been reported in community settings that involve close and prolonged contact. such as among married couples or people who shared cabins.. Dr.. Van Kerkhove said the virus does not spread like flu or like Covid. describing it as different in how transmission works.
Research has also helped refine thinking about how such transmission might occur.. Dr.. Gustavo Palacios. a microbiologist at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York who studied the virus in Argentina. estimated that about 3. 000 cases of the Andes strain have occurred in history.. He believes the transmission window may be short—possibly around a day—but that spread may happen after someone is in brief proximity to a person who is sick.. Palacios said peak infectiousness is believed to occur on the day a fever begins.
For the broader Andes outbreak in Argentina that Palacios studied. the reproductive number was estimated differently before and after public health measures.. He said the Andes virus reproductive number averaged 2.12. meaning each infected person passed the virus to about 2.12 others before interventions. with an overall outbreak average of 1.19.. After isolation and quarantine. he said it fell to 0.96. and he noted it remains unclear what the reproductive number could be for the cruise ship cluster.
The long-term picture also matters as countries weigh how to allocate resources.. From 1993 to 2023. CDC data cited in the report shows 890 cases of hantavirus disease were reported in the United States. mostly in western states.. Interest in the virus rose last year after Betsy Arakawa. the wife of Oscar-winning actor Gene Hackman. died of hantavirus at age 65.
Globally, estimates cited in the report put the burden at tens of thousands of cases each year. A 2024 study estimated 60,000 to 100,000 cases worldwide annually, with China accounting for about half.
For passengers and families now waiting for results. the practical meaning of these figures is straightforward: the response depends on time.. With an incubation that can stretch from weeks to as long as two months. public health teams can’t just look at who became sick right away.. That is why contact tracing is being extended across flights and ports. why quarantine planning is already underway. and why the ship’s arrival in Tenerife will be followed by disinfection and continued investigation.
Even with WHO saying the general public risk remains low. the cluster is still a reminder that travel can accelerate the movement of rare diseases between countries.. As the MV Hondius approaches Tenerife and passengers are repatriated under medical oversight. authorities will be watching closely for any signs of symptoms among those considered exposed. while sequencing and timelines continue to guide how the outbreak is understood.
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