An outbreak of a dangerous hantavirus strain occurred aboard the Dutch cruise vessel MV Hondius, which departed Argentina for Antarctica on April 1. According to the latest data, three people died and the total number of confirmed cases reached at least eight. As Novaya-Europe reports, the crew did not initially realize they were dealing with a dangerous infectious disease, so quarantine was not imposed right away.
The dead include an elderly married couple from the Netherlands and a German citizen. In total, there were 149 people from 23 countries on board, including one Russian and five Ukrainian citizens.
How the outbreak unfolded
One passenger, a 70-year-old Dutch resident, felt unwell on April 6, six days after the vessel left Argentina. He died five days later. His 69-year-old wife was also on board.
Because the crew did not suspect hantavirus infection, no quarantine was declared. On April 24, thirty passengers disembarked on Saint Helena and then traveled on to different countries, meaning they could have carried the infection further.
The dead man’s wife was among those who disembarked and took his body with her. By that point, she was already showing symptoms of the illness. Her condition sharply worsened during a flight to South Africa, and she died on April 26 at Johannesburg airport. It was later confirmed that she had also contracted hantavirus. After this episode, the World Health Organization raised the alarm.
The third victim was a woman from Germany who had also been on the cruise. She began feeling ill on April 28 and died on May 2. Only after her death was the strictest quarantine introduced on the vessel.
Where the ship is now
In early May, the crew planned to dock in Cape Verde and disembark passengers, but the island state’s authorities refused after conducting a “technical and epidemiological assessment.” At the same time, they allowed the evacuation of three passengers with suspected infection, who were sent to the Netherlands.
Later, the Spanish authorities allowed the liner to enter a port in the Canary Islands. The vessel was expected to dock in the port of Tenerife during the day on May 10. Canary Islands President Fernando Clavijo said the decision had not been coordinated with him and accused the Spanish authorities of incompetence.
What is known about the virus
Hantavirus is transmitted to humans from rodents through direct contact, as well as through their saliva and urine. In this case, the strain involved is the South American Andes strain, which can also spread through close physical contact between people, though not by airborne transmission.
At first, the disease can resemble influenza: patients develop high fever, muscle pain, and other similar symptoms. The infection can then affect the lungs and kidneys. Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome is fatal in about 50% of cases. There is still no universal vaccine or specific medicine against the virus, so doctors can only support the function of the affected organs.
The World Health Organization stresses that hantavirus is not like coronavirus, so it does not pose a pandemic threat to humanity because it does not spread through the air.
Cases were also detected outside the liner. In particular, the first hantavirus case was recorded in Israel; the patient is thought to have been infected while in Eastern Europe several months earlier.