Three people have died and four others remain hospitalized after contracting hantavirus during an outbreak on a cruise ship sailing between Argentina and Cape Verde, which is now scheduled to head toward the Canary Islands.
An uncommon strain of the virus—which can be transmitted between people who maintain close and prolonged contact—has been detected in affected patients who were aboard the tourist vessel.
According to South Africa’s Ministry of Health, the Andean strain of hantavirus was detected in two individuals who were evacuated from the ship to that country.
Three other individuals exhibiting symptoms were evacuated this Wednesday morning to receive medical care in the Netherlands, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
The evacuated individuals include a 56-year-old British national, a 41-year-old Dutch citizen, and a 65-year-old German woman, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands.
The WHO also confirmed that a Swiss citizen who returned to their home country after traveling on the ship is currently receiving treatment for hantavirus at a hospital in Zurich.
“At this stage, the overall risk to public health remains low,” noted WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
He added that contact tracing and monitoring have already begun for passengers currently on board, as well as for those who have already disembarked.
The outbreak occurred aboard the cruise ship MV Hondius, which departed from the Argentine city of Ushuaia, in the province of Tierra del Fuego.
It is a polar expedition cruise ship—operated by the Netherlands-based tourism company Oceanwide Expeditions—with a capacity for 170 passengers distributed across 80 cabins, in addition to 57 crew members, 13 guides, and a physician.
What Is Hantavirus, and What Are the Symptoms? Hantavirus—named after a river in South Korea—is a strain of virus transmitted by rodents.
Humans contract the virus primarily by inhaling airborne particles originating from the dried droppings of these animals.
Infections typically occur when the virus becomes airborne from a rodent’s urine, droppings, or saliva, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
South African health authorities noted that the strain involved in the cruise ship case—which is common in Latin America—was detected in both confirmed cases following analyses conducted by South Africa’s National Institute for Communicable Diseases.
The Andes virus is found primarily in Argentina and Chile.
A report submitted to the South African Parliament—to which the BBC had access—indicates that the Andes strain is “the only known strain capable of person-to-person transmission.”
The document emphasizes that such transmission remains rare and occurs only in cases of “very close contact.”
It also details efforts to trace the contacts of those infected. To date, 42 of the 62 identified individuals have been located.
Although rare, the virus can also be transmitted through rodent bites or scratches. It can cause two serious diseases.
The first—Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS)—typically begins with fatigue, fever, and muscle aches, followed by headaches, dizziness, chills, and abdominal issues.
If respiratory symptoms develop, the mortality rate is approximately 38%, according to the CDC.
The second disease—Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome (HFRS)—is more severe and primarily affects the kidneys.
Subsequent symptoms may include hypotension, internal bleeding, and acute kidney failure. According to the WHO, there are more than 20 different viral species, almost all of which are associated with infection via rodents—generally rats and mice—through urine and dried feces.
