Hantavirus Outbreak on Cruise Ship Arrives in Rotterdam

A cruise ship facing a hantavirus outbreak is set to reach the Dutch city of Rotterdam on Monday morning.

The MV Hondius has been en route from the Canary Islands for six days, with remaining passengers being escorted off the ship by personnel wearing full protective gear. They are set to board planes to over 20 countries for quarantine.

As reported by the World Health Organization, 11 passengers on the ship have been infected, with nine cases confirmed.

Three passengers lost their lives, including a Dutch couple believed to have contracted the virus during a trip to South America.

The ship, which carries 25 crew members and two medical personnel, has been sailing north from Tenerife along Africa and Europe’s coasts. Oceanwide Expeditions, the ship’s operator, stated that no one on board is showing symptoms.

The Dutch Ministry of Health announced last week that crew members unable to return home will undergo quarantine in the Netherlands. About 20 passengers and crew members who arrived in the Netherlands over the past couple of weeks are already in quarantine.

The Public Health Agency of Canada reported on Sunday that one of the four Canadians who were quarantined after leaving the ship has tested positive. This case has not yet been included in the WHO data.

Meanwhile, 18 Americans are currently being monitored at specialized medical facilities in the U.S. set up for treating dangerous infectious diseases.

Preparations for the MV Hondius’s arrival in Rotterdam include health checks for its crew members, according to the Dutch Health Ministry, which communicated to parliament last week that personal protection measures will ensure that cleaners do not need to isolate after the decontamination process.

Officials plan to inspect the ship before it is allowed to sail again. This outbreak marks the first confirmed case aboard a cruise vessel.

The company managing the cruise ship indicated that there would be no changes to its operations, with an Arctic cruise scheduled to depart from Keflavik, Iceland, on May 29th.

On Saturday, France’s Institut Pasteur revealed it had sequenced the Andean virus discovered in a French passenger aboard the MV Hondius, confirming it matched another virus known from South America; however, no evidence suggests it has developed new traits that would enhance its transmissibility or danger.