A cruise ship docked in Spain’s Canary Islands is at the center of an escalating hantavirus outbreak that has killed three passengers and infected seven others across multiple continents.
The MV Hondius ship that Oceanwide Expeditions operates encountered a hantavirus infection from the Andean strain, which rodents commonly carry, during its South American voyage in April.
The World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed seven cases and two suspected cases on Monday. Two deaths are confirmed cases of hantavirus, a third death is classified as probable since the elderly Dutch man who died first on April 11 tested positive before the death occurred.
His 69-year-old wife, who disembarked in South Africa, died two days after leaving the ship, and her case was confirmed. A German woman died on board on May 2, it is also confirmed.
Passengers from the ship return home to the United States, France, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands and other countries. An American and a Frenchman have already tested positive after returning home.
Two Britons are in hospital in the Netherlands and South Africa. The different quarantine protocols between countries underline the international dimension of the outbreak.
The WHO recommends 42 days of isolation for those leaving the ship. However, the US Centers for Disease Control, led by Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, rejected these guidelines, emphasizing that human-to-human transmission is rare and the situation should not be treated as COVID-19.
Both US passengers returned to biocontainment units out of an abundance of caution, with 17 US citizens undergoing clinical assessment in Nebraska.
French Health Minister Stéphanie Rist reported that a woman who isolated herself in Paris showed deteriorating health with 22 contacts traced. Canadian passengers have landed in Victoria, British Columbia, and are in self-isolation for at least three weeks.
Four Australians, a Briton and a New Zealander stayed on the ship with 54 passengers and crew at the Tenerife quay.
Symptoms of hantavirus include fever, extreme fatigue, muscle aches, stomach pain, vomiting, diarrhea and shortness of breath. The Andean strain allows people to transmit the virus to each other, but health authorities say there will be no widespread outbreaks.
Captain Jan Dobrogowski released a statement on the “extremely challenging” situation, expressing his appreciation for the crew’s discipline and passengers’ patience. Spanish authorities confirmed that a police officer who took part in repatriation operations died of cardiac arrest.
