A dangerous experiment is playing out on a cruise ship with hantavirus
The tragic and fatal outbreak of hantavirus onboard a luxury cruise ship highlights the gaps in research and treatments for the rare and mysterious infection—including how the virus spreads among people
Photo by AFP via Getty Images
The deadly hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship serves as a stark example of how little is understood about the virus’s transmission among humans. Experts note that such outbreaks are rare, leaving many questions about how the virus spreads from person to person.
Alison Kell, a virologist at the University of New Mexico, sees this as a rare opportunity to learn more about the virus. The World Health Organization suspects that human-to-human transmission is responsible for the outbreak, with at least eight individuals on the MV Hondius either sickened or deceased due to hantavirus. Many of these cases involve the Andes virus, the only hantavirus known to spread between people.
Hantavirus usually spreads through contact with infected rodents and their waste. The current outbreak on the Hondius marks only the second confirmed instance of human-to-human hantavirus transmission. In 2018, a similar outbreak in Argentina infected 34 people and resulted in 11 deaths. Before this, human-to-human transmission had only been speculated.
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The virus has claimed three lives, causing symptoms such as fluid buildup in the lungs and hemorrhagic fever. Three others, including the ship’s doctor, have been evacuated to the Netherlands for treatment. Additionally, a passenger who left the ship at Saint Helena tested positive and is being treated at the University Hospital Zurich in Switzerland.
The ship faces docking issues and restricted access. Passengers remaining on board are following isolation protocols to prevent further spread. Kell notes that researchers aim to collect virus samples from the ship for sequencing, which could reveal if this strain of the Andes virus differs from others that do not spread between humans.
Gaining more information would be invaluable given the virus’s rarity. Hantavirus mortality can reach 50 percent, yet less than 900 cases were noted in the U.S. between 1993 and 2023, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
While there is a possibility that the Andes hantavirus spreads through saliva, it’s uncertain whether this includes airborne droplets from coughing or sneezing. Virologists believe the virus is not efficiently passed from person to person, as past outbreaks have involved close contact between family members or healthcare providers, says Scott Weaver, a professor at the University of Texas Medical Branch.
Airborne transmission evidence is limited, but cannot be ruled out entirely. Public health authorities are taking precautions in response to this uncertainty. South African health minister Aaron Motsoaledi announced in a press release that 62 individuals potentially exposed to the virus, including medical workers, have been identified.
“The total number of people who were traced and who could have come in contact with them were 62. [Some] 42 of them have already been traced, and they are being observed. The work is ongoing,” Motsoaledi said.
Passengers on the ship remain stranded, awaiting plans for the Hondius to dock at the Canary Islands. The arrival location and quarantine protocols are still being finalized.
Precautionary measures are essential, according to Colleen Jonsson, a virologist at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, due to the risk of the virus mutating into a more virulent form. As seen during the COVID pandemic, viruses can become more dangerous as they mutate. The high fatality rate of hantavirus has led some public health experts to consider it a potential pandemic threat if it becomes more easily transmissible.
Kell, however, believes a global outbreak from the ship’s passengers is unlikely. Although unforeseen mutations are possible, the limited number of cases reduces the chance for widespread mutation and transmission. “I’m not going to discount the possibility that that could happen. I would mark it, from my personal opinion, as relatively low risk but something to watch for sure,” she says.
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