Global Health Authorities Race to Trace Cruise Passengers After Deadly Hantavirus Outbreak

Health authorities across several countries are scrambling to trace passengers linked to a deadly hantavirus outbreak aboard a cruise ship, even as experts stress the virus does not spread easily between people and is unlikely to trigger a wider epidemic.

The outbreak on the Dutch-flagged vessel MV Hondius has killed three people and sickened several others, prompting an international public health response involving officials in Europe, Africa, North America and Asia.

Although only five confirmed cases have been identified so far, scientists and health officials are moving quickly to monitor potentially exposed passengers after dozens left the ship before authorities confirmed hantavirus as the cause of illness.

About 140 passengers remain aboard the vessel as it heads toward the Canary Islands, where they are expected to disembark. No additional illnesses have been reported among those still onboard.

Hantaviruses are typically spread through contact with rodent droppings, urine or saliva, often when contaminated particles become airborne and are inhaled. Human infections are rare, and person-to-person transmission is considered uncommon.

However, the strain linked to the cruise outbreak is believed to be the Andes virus, a form of hantavirus found in South America that has shown limited ability to spread between humans in rare cases. That possibility has heightened concern among researchers and public health agencies.

Officials are now carrying out contact tracing, a process aimed at identifying people who may have been exposed to infected passengers, monitoring them for symptoms and preventing any further spread.

Passengers who left the ship during a stop at Saint Helena are a major focus of the investigation. Authorities say those passengers later travelled to multiple countries, including the United States, Britain, Singapore and Canada.

The government of Saint Helena said several higher-risk contacts were being monitored and instructed to isolate for 45 days.

In Britain, the UK Health Security Agency confirmed that two passengers who returned home midway through the voyage are self-isolating despite showing no symptoms. A small number of their close contacts are also isolating as a precaution.

Singaporean officials said two men who disembarked from the ship had been isolated and tested after returning home through South Africa. Canadian authorities in Ontario also advised two returning passengers to self-isolate.

In the United States, health departments in Arizona and Texas confirmed they are monitoring passengers who left the cruise in April. Officials said none of those individuals currently showed symptoms.

Scientists are also working to better understand the virus itself. Researchers in Argentina are preparing to study whether the virus may have mutated in a way that increases transmissibility.

Jeanne Marrazzo said experts are still investigating exactly how the virus spreads between humans when such cases occur. Current evidence suggests infected people may only become contagious once symptoms appear, potentially spreading the virus through respiratory droplets produced while coughing, sneezing or speaking.

Despite the growing international response, health experts continue to stress that the overall public health risk remains low.