An international health crisis is looming as passengers from a cruise ship hit by a deadly hantavirus outbreak begin returning to their home countries across the globe. Health officials are now closely monitoring these individuals, a number of whom have tested positive for the virus and have moved into isolation.
The cruise ship, MV Hondius, was carrying about 150 people when it anchored off Spain’s Canary Islands on a Sunday, initiating a swift evacuation process. The World Health Organization (WHO) has attempted to assuage public concerns, stating that the risk to the general population is low. Nonetheless, health officials worldwide are seeking to control potential spread by closely monitoring individuals who were aboard the ship or who had close contact with those infected.
This situation has elicited responses from various countries’ health departments. Stéphanie Rist, the French health minister, reported on a Monday that one French passenger had tested positive for the virus after being evacuated the previous day, and that the patient’s condition was deteriorating. In the United States, the Department of Health and Human Services disclosed that one out of 18 Americans who had been repatriated from the ship on a Sunday tested mildly positive for the Andes strain of the hantavirus. Another American passenger exhibited mild symptoms.
This unfortunate incident has already claimed the lives of three people in the nearly six weeks since the ship embarked on its adventure cruise from Argentina to remote islands in the southern Atlantic Ocean, and then to the Canary Islands. Hantavirus is a rare family of pathogens that is typically carried by rodents.
The risk to the wider public is considered very low as human-to-human transmission of the hantavirus is rare. However, the strain that infected the passengers from the ship, known as the Andes strain, is the only known variant that can spread among humans, particularly those who are in prolonged, close contact.
In response to this, global health officials are taking measures to halt the virus from spreading. Countries are working to trace people who may have been exposed to the virus, and national health officials will monitor individuals who were aboard the ship for signs of disease over the coming weeks.
Currently, there are no targeted treatments or widely available vaccines for the hantavirus, which can result in severe illness and death. Symptoms can be managed with oxygen therapy, fluid replacement, and medication, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Hantavirus is most commonly contracted by inhaling particles of dried rodent droppings or urine. Initial symptoms resemble those of the flu, including fever, chills, body aches, and headaches. As the illness progresses, it can cause shortness of breath and, in severe instances, lung or heart failure. The CDC notes a case fatality rate of up to 15 percent in Asia and Europe and up to 50 percent in the Americas.
In terms of the current situation, three people have died, and at least seven other people who were on the ship have either fallen ill or tested positive for the virus, according to health officials.
One individual who tested positive is in France, with their condition rapidly deteriorating. Another person who tested positive is in Omaha, as reported by the Department of Health and Human Services. Additionally, one man is in intensive care in Johannesburg, according to the World Health Organization. The ship’s doctor was evacuated to the Netherlands and is currently stable in isolation. A man who acted as a guide on the ship is also stable and in isolation in the Netherlands.
One passenger disembarked at St. Helena, a remote island in the South Atlantic Ocean, on April 22 and then traveled to Switzerland via South Africa and Qatar in late April. He began experiencing symptoms on May 1 and tested positive on May 5. He is currently hospitalized and in isolation in Switzerland. The health authorities in Britain have reported that a British citizen, who had been onboard and disembarked on Tristan da Cunha, another British territory in the South Atlantic, is suspected to have contracted the virus. The WHO has also labeled his illness a “probable case” and reported that he is stable and in isolation.
In light of this ongoing crisis, the first passenger died less than two weeks after the MV Hondius, which is registered in the Netherlands, left Ushuaia, an Argentine city, on April 1. This individual was a 69-year-old Dutch man whose body was taken off the ship at St. Helena to be repatriated to the Netherlands. His wife, also 69, became ill after leaving the ship with his body and died shortly thereafter at an airport in Johannesburg. The WHO believes that the Dutch couple who died had been infected with the hantavirus before boarding the ship.
A German woman also died aboard the ship after presenting symptoms of pneumonia. Her body later tested positive for the virus.
In the United States, health authorities are monitoring 18 Americans who were on the ship when it anchored off the Canary Islands. Sixteen of these individuals were taken to the University of Nebraska Medical Center/Nebraska Medicine in Omaha, while two others, a person with mild symptoms and their partner, were taken to Emory University’s Regional Emerging Special Pathogen Treatment Center in Atlanta. It remains unclear how long these passengers will be quarantined.
Health officials in other states, including Georgia, California, and Arizona, also stated that they were monitoring people who had departed the cruise ship in late April, before the outbreak was identified, and returned home.
Nearly two dozen countries have also moved to repatriate their citizens from the ship after it anchored off the Canary Islands. Once they are home, health officials plan to monitor them for symptoms as they stay isolated.
In late April, about 30 people from at least 12 countries left the ship in St. Helena, more than a week before the first confirmed case of the virus was reported, according to Oceanwide, the company that operates the cruise.
Most of the evacuations were completed by a Monday, according to Mónica García, Spain’s health minister. The last plane was expected to depart on Monday, taking with it 22 remaining passengers and crew members, while another 32 will stay on board.
Oceanwide Expeditions stated that once all guests and some of the crew had left, the ship would bunker and take on necessary supplies before heading to Rotterdam in the Netherlands. This trip was expected to take around five days. Upon arrival, the ship will undergo a thorough disinfection process, according to Spain’s interior minister, Fernando Grande-Marlaska.
This unfolding situation brings to light the potential global implications of a deadly virus outbreak on a cruise ship, and underscores the importance of swift and effective response measures to prevent further spread. The world watches and waits as health officials and authorities grapple with this crisis and work towards a resolution.
