The Dutch-flagged MV Hondius is heading to the Canary Islands after a hantavirus outbreak left three people dead and triggered an international investigation. About 140 passengers remain aboard, with symptom-free travellers expected to be repatriated after the ship reaches Tenerife this weekend and authorities continue tracing how the infection began across several countries. This comprehensive guide covers where did the cruise ship hantavirus come from and what happens next? in detail.
Understanding Where Did The Cruise Ship Hantavirus Come From And What Happens Next?
Passengers first fell ill in early April during the voyage from Argentina to Cape Verde. Symptoms have included fever, gastrointestinal problems, pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome and shock. Originally reported by The Guardian.
Three people have died since 11 April: a Dutch couple and a German woman, whose body remains on the ship. As of Thursday, authorities had recorded eight suspected cases, with laboratory tests confirming hantavirus in three.
Three people with suspected infections have been evacuated and are receiving care in the Netherlands. They include 56-year-old Martin Anstee, a retired British policeman working aboard as an expedition guide.
Another Briton is in hospital in South Africa. A further person was diagnosed after disembarking and returning to Switzerland, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control said.
Two Britons who left the vessel at Saint Helena in late April have returned to the UK and are self-isolating. Neither has reported symptoms. Close contacts of those on the boat are also self-isolating.
The cases across several countries make passenger travel histories central to the investigation. Officials are compiling those histories for everyone who boarded, looking at where they travelled before joining the cruise and how the outbreak might have started.
Andes strain puts Argentina under scrutiny
Investigators are examining whether two passengers contracted the virus during a birdwatching expedition in Argentina before boarding. That remains a line of inquiry, not an established explanation for the cruise ship hantavirus outbreak.
Laboratory testing has identified the Andes strain, which is endemic to Argentina. Its rodent host there is the long-tailed pygmy rice rat.
Hantaviruses are a large group of viruses carried by rodents, including mice and rats, with distinct strains circulating in different regions. People typically become infected by inhaling droplets or dust contaminated with infected animals' urine, faeces or saliva.
Most hantaviruses don't spread between people. But the Andes strain can, particularly through close and prolonged contact with someone in the early stages of illness.
A previous outbreak in Argentina in 2018-19 demonstrated that risk: three people exposed to infected rodents spread hantavirus to 34 others, 11 of whom died.
That history makes identifying the initial exposure only part of the task. Investigators also need to establish whether any infections passed between people. The strain's ability to spread through close contact explains why monitoring extends beyond those still aboard to people who have already left the ship and their contacts.
Tenerife arrival sets up repatriation and isolation
Hantavirus infections can cause life-threatening illness, although disease patterns differ by strain. Old world strains found in Europe and Asia tend to cause haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS), a kidney disease fatal in about 10% of cases.
New world strains in the Americas are more virulent and cause hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS), which can kill more than a third of those infected.
For passengers still aboard MV Hondius, the immediate plan centres on Tenerife. The ship is expected to arrive this weekend, with remaining passengers due to be repatriated provided they have no symptoms.
The 19 British nationals thought still to be onboard are being closely monitored. If they're symptom-free, they'll return on a flight chartered by the UK Foreign Office once the vessel docks.
On returning to the UK, they'll be asked to self-isolate for 45 days. That period reflects hantavirus's long incubation time: symptoms usually develop within one to six weeks, but in extreme cases can take eight weeks.
A lack of symptoms at disembarkation won't therefore end the need for monitoring. The isolation request is intended to cover the period when illness may emerge after passengers have reached home.
As the vessel approaches Tenerife, two questions remain linked: where the first infections occurred and whether others were infected through contact. Repatriation will move passengers off the ship, but the investigation into the cruise ship hantavirus outbreak and the monitoring of those exposed will continue after arrival.
Originally reported by The Guardian. View original.