WHO calms hantavirus cruise fears

Global health officials moved to contain public anxiety over a deadly hantavirus cluster linked to the MV Hondius, a Dutch-flagged expedition cruise ship that sailed from Argentina toward Cape Verde, stressing that the outbreak does not signal the start of another coronavirus-style pandemic.

Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, the World Health Organization’s director for epidemic and pandemic preparedness and prevention, said the virus behaves very differently from SARS-CoV-2 and is not spreading in the way that drove Covid-19 across borders. “This is not coronavirus. This is a very different virus,” she told a Thursday briefing, seeking to separate a serious but limited shipboard outbreak from a wider global threat.

The cluster has left three people dead and triggered health monitoring across several countries after passengers and crew travelled through the South Atlantic on an itinerary that began in Ushuaia, Argentina, on 1 April. The vessel’s route included remote ecological zones, including Antarctica, South Georgia, Tristan da Cunha, Saint Helena and Ascension Island, before the outbreak drew international attention while the ship was off Cape Verde.

Five of eight suspected cases linked to the vessel have been confirmed, while more illnesses may still be detected because the incubation period of the Andes strain can extend for several weeks. WHO officials have said the public health risk remains low, even as they acknowledged that the event requires careful contact tracing, medical evacuation protocols and continued surveillance of those who left the ship before the diagnosis was established.

The Andes virus, a species of hantavirus associated with South America, can cause hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, a severe respiratory illness that may progress rapidly after early symptoms such as fever, headache, gastrointestinal distress, muscle pain and dizziness. Unlike most hantaviruses, the Andes strain has documented instances of limited person-to-person transmission, but such spread is uncommon and usually linked to prolonged, close contact.

Health authorities are examining whether exposure occurred before passengers boarded in Argentina or during excursions in rodent habitats along the route. Human infection is most often associated with inhaling particles contaminated by the urine, droppings or saliva of infected rodents, or by contact with contaminated surfaces. Routine tourism carries low risk, but eco-tourism, rural exposure, camping, field activity and poorly ventilated spaces with rodent infestation can raise the danger.

The first known fatality involved a 70-year-old Dutch man who developed symptoms on 6 April and died aboard the ship on 11 April. His death was initially treated as non-infectious, and his body was taken off at Saint Helena on 24 April, the same day several passengers disembarked. His 69-year-old wife later became critically ill during onward travel through South Africa and died after reaching medical care. A German passenger who developed fever on 28 April died on 2 May.

That sequence has placed scrutiny on the period between the first death and the formal confirmation of hantavirus infection. At least 29 passengers of 12 nationalities left the ship at Saint Helena before the outbreak was confirmed, prompting authorities in multiple countries to trace their movements and advise monitoring or isolation where necessary. Some travellers returned to Europe, North America, Asia and Australia, widening the operational challenge even though wider public risk remains low.

The MV Hondius, operated by Oceanwide Expeditions, has kept remaining passengers and crew under strict precautions, including cabin confinement, physical distancing, hygiene measures and medical checks. Passengers have described a subdued but orderly atmosphere, with meals delivered to cabins and medical teams using protective equipment while assessing symptomatic people.

Spain has allowed the vessel to proceed toward the Canary Islands under controlled arrangements, with the ship expected to remain at anchor while health teams evaluate those onboard. Transfers and repatriations are being planned under protective procedures designed to avoid contact with the wider population. The Netherlands has been involved in medical evacuations, while Cape Verde, South Africa, Spain, the United Kingdom and Argentina are part of the public health coordination effort.

The outbreak has also revived broader concern about zoonotic viruses, climate pressures on rodent habitats and the growth of expedition tourism in remote regions. Argentina has recorded a notable burden of hantavirus infections in Latin America, and investigators are expected to examine possible links to pre-boarding travel, local wildlife exposure and activities around Ushuaia.