Hantavirus Risk to Public ‘Absolutely Low’ — WHO, as Cruise Ship Outbreak Claims 3 Lives

By Emmanuel Kwada

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has reassured the global public that the risk posed by a rare hantavirus outbreak linked to a cruise ship remains “absolutely low,” despite three confirmed deaths and a total of eight cases reported so far.

The outbreak involves the Andes hantavirus strain capable of limited human-to-human transmission which emerged aboard the MV Hondius during its Atlantic crossing.

“This is a dangerous virus, but only to the person who’s really infected, and the risk to the general population remains absolutely low,” WHO spokesman Christian Lindmeier told journalists in Geneva on Friday.

He noted that even cabin-mates of infected individuals have not necessarily contracted the virus, underscoring its relatively low contagiousness compared to diseases like COVID-19.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus confirmed that five cases have been verified and three more are suspected, including the three fatalities. He warned that more cases could still emerge due to the virus’s incubation period of up to six weeks.

The MV Hondius departed from Ushuaia, Argentina, on April 1. A Dutch couple who had toured parts of South America before boarding were the first victims. The husband died aboard the ship on April 11, and his wife later succumbed in South Africa. A German passenger became the third fatality on May 2.

Health authorities in multiple countries are tracing contacts, with infected or suspected individuals currently isolated or receiving treatment in Britain, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and South Africa.

Argentine officials have been unable to pinpoint the exact origin of the infection. They plan to test rodents in Ushuaia as part of the investigation. The virus is typically transmitted from infected rodents to humans but spread between people in this Andes strain variant.

The ship’s operator, Netherlands-based Oceanwide Expeditions, said there are currently no symptomatic individuals on board as the vessel sails toward Tenerife in the Spanish Canary Islands, where it is expected to arrive on Sunday.

A YouTuber aboard the ship, Kasem Ibn Hattuta, said passengers were largely calm despite the situation. “Most people on board are reacting very calmly to the situation, unlike what is being reported in the media,” he posted.

US President Donald Trump, who was briefed on the matter, described the situation as “very much, we hope, under control.”

WHO officials believe the outbreak will remain limited if strong public health measures and international cooperation continue. There is currently no vaccine or specific cure for hantavirus, which can cause severe respiratory distress and haemorrhagic fever.

Health authorities across affected countries continue to monitor the situation closely as contact tracing efforts expand.