What you need to know
- A hantavirus outbreak on a Dutch cruise ship has infected 11 people so far. Three of them have died.
- Hantavirus is a family of viruses that can cause serious health problems, including severe lung and kidney illnesses. The virus usually spreads through contact with urine, saliva, or droppings from infected rats and mice.
- There’s no need to panic: Health officials say the risk to the general public is low. Right now, the people at highest risk are those who have been in close contact with infected passengers.
On May 2, a Dutch cruise ship traveling through the South Atlantic reported that several passengers were sick with a severe respiratory illness. Health authorities later confirmed the illness was hantavirus, a rare disease that’s most often spread by rodents like mice and rats.
As of May 12, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), 11 passengers from the cruise ship have been infected and three of them have died. So far, WHO says the risk to the general public remains low.
Here’s what to know about hantavirus, how it spreads, and what we know about the cruise ship outbreak.
What is hantavirus?
Hantavirus refers to a family of rare viruses usually spread through contact with infected rodents, including their urine, saliva, or droppings. In some cases, hantavirus infections can cause severe illness affecting the lungs or kidneys and can become life-threatening.
Symptoms can include:
- Muscle aches
- Fatigue
- Fever
- Headache
- Dizziness
- Chills
- Gastrointestinal symptoms like diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting
- Coughing
- Shortness of breath
In severe cases, hantavirus can cause serious breathing problems and can be deadly. Symptoms can also take time to appear—anywhere from one to eight weeks after exposure—which is why health officials are continuing to monitor passengers from the cruise.
What do we know about the hantavirus cases in the cruise ship?
According to WHO, infected passengers aboard the m/v Hondius cruise ship experienced fever, pneumonia, respiratory distress, and gastrointestinal symptoms. There have been 11 infected passengers so far, and three patients have been evacuated from the cruise.
Human-to-human spread of hantavirus is rare. Still, WHO says there may have been some person-to-person transmission aboard the cruise ship, as two of the people who died were married to each other. WHO also confirmed that the virus involved is the Andes strain, a type of hantavirus found in South America.
The cruise operator, Oceanwide Expeditions, said there were 17 American passengers aboard the ship. Six other Americans disembarked in St. Helena on April 24. Health officials in Georgia, California, and Arizona are monitoring passengers from those states, according to the New York Times. So far, none have developed symptoms.
The ship’s passengers were evacuated in the Canary Islands, Spain, and the American passengers landed back in the U.S. on May 11. One of them tested positive for the virus.
Should I be worried about this becoming a pandemic?
No. “For the average person in the U.S., this is not a concern,” Dr. Carlos del Rio, distinguished professor of medicine at Emory University School of Medicine, told PGN during an Infectious Disease Society of America (IDSA) press briefing. “From an infectious disease perspective, I’m not worried about this outbreak becoming a pandemic.”
Hantavirus infections are rare in the United States: According to the CDC, fewer than 900 cases have been reported in the country since tracking began in 1993. As theNew York Times reported, the people currently at highest risk are those who had close contact with infected passengers, such as family members or cabinmates.
During the same briefing, Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo, infectious disease physician and CEO at IDSA, said the situation is serious but not a reason for panic: “We really have to sort of try to just be calm and focus on the context and look at the risk in those situations.”
What can I do to prevent hantavirus?
While the risk to the general public is low, it’s still important to practice basic infection prevention habits, including washing your hands regularly and staying home when you’re sick.
Additionally, Del Rio said travelers who develop symptoms after a trip should contact a health care provider right away. Before traveling, he recommends that “it’s very important to do you pre-travel health consultation, get the appropriate vaccines, get the appropriate antibiotics, get the appropriate tests… and then when you come back, if you’re sick, you have to go back [to your health care provider] and let them know.”
According to the Mayo Clinic, people most at risk of hantavirus exposure also include those who spend time in places where rodents may live, like farm buildings, unused structures, seasonal cabins, hiking shelters, construction sites, and storage areas. WHO recommends several ways to reduce contact with rodents, including keeping homes and workplaces clean, sealing openings where rodents can enter buildings, avoiding dry sweeping or vacuuming rodent poop, storing food securely, and disposing of trash properly.