Hantavirus Outbreak Linked to MV Hondius Cruise Ship

A woman in France, who recently traveled on the MV Hondius cruise ship, is critically ill with hantavirus, as the total number of reported cases linked to the outbreak has risen to 11. Health officials are carefully watching the travelers who disembarked from the ship, as well as their close contacts, for any signs of illness.

On Tuesday, the World Health Organization confirmed that out of the reported cases, three individuals have died. Of these 11 cases, nine were confirmed as hantavirus, while two are labeled as “probable.” During a Wednesday briefing in Stockholm, experts from the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control noted that the critically ill woman was one of three patients in serious condition, emphasizing that she showed no symptoms at the time of leaving the ship.

At Bichat Hospital in Paris, where the woman is currently receiving treatment, infectious disease specialist Xavier Lescure reported that she is experiencing severe symptoms and is reliant on an artificial lung for breathing. In related comments, agency director Pamela Rendi-Wagner highlighted the virus’s lengthy incubation period, suggesting that passengers from the ship undergo quarantine for up to six weeks.

The W.H.O. anticipates more hantavirus cases could emerge, pointing to how easily the virus spreads in closed spaces like ships, although they suggest the risk of a wider outbreak remains low. So far, all known cases have been among the roughly 150 passengers and crew aboard the Dutch-registered MV Hondius, which was operating in the South Atlantic when the outbreak occurred.

Health authorities are actively identifying individuals who had close contact with the passengers and advising them to quarantine as well. Meanwhile, a hospital in the Netherlands reported that 12 of its staff might have been exposed to the virus while handling samples from infected individuals, and are also proceeding with a six-week precautionary quarantine.

The MV Hondius set sail from Argentina last month for a cruise adventure. A 70-year-old Dutch man began exhibiting symptoms a few days into the trip and sadly passed away on April 11. His 69-year-old wife fell ill and died on April 26 while attempting to return home to the Netherlands. Another passenger, a German woman, died aboard the ship after showing flu-like symptoms, and later tests confirmed she was positive for the virus.

Hantavirus, which belongs to a group of rare viruses often carried by rodents, specifically the Andes subtype in this instance, can be transmitted through close contact with an infected person. Initial symptoms can appear similar to those of the flu but may escalate to shortness of breath and potentially severe complications like lung or heart failure. The W.H.O. speculates that the Dutch couple may have contracted the virus prior to boarding the ship.

As for the MV Hondius, it anchored near Spain’s Canary Islands recently, allowing passengers and crew to return to their home countries for monitoring and quarantine. Spanish authorities also indicated that 32 crew members would remain on the ship until it can reach docks in the Netherlands.

In the U.S., 18 Americans from the cruise are undergoing observation at facilities in Nebraska and Georgia. The health department noted that one member of a couple sent to a hospital in Atlanta with mild symptoms tested negative for the Andes strain. Among the 16 others transferred to a medical facility in Omaha, most are asymptomatic, including one individual who tested “mildly” positive for hantavirus.