With terrifying thoughts of COVID still on the minds of many of us, the recent outbreak of a rare rodent-borne disease, hantavirus, is causing widespread concern. The current hantavirus outbreak itself is serious but limited. Eight cases have been linked to a cruise ship called the MV Hondius. So far, three of the cases have been fatal. According to Dr. Tyler Evans (Founder/CEO of Wellbeing Equity Alliance) the Hondius departed from Ushuaia, in Argentine Patagonia, which is exactly within the reach of that virus. That geography matters. It’s the most plausible explanation for what we’re seeing, and it’s also why this outbreak shouldn’t cause panic among people disconnected from that part of the world. The strain involved is Andean hantavirus, which is the only hantavirus known to be spread from person to person, but it generally requires prolonged close contact.
The hantavirus is nothing like the coronavirus
World Health Organization experts have said they expect the spread of a deadly and rare hantavirus variant to be “limited” and stressed that an outbreak on cruise ships that has killed three people is “not the start of a pandemic”. Detailed investigations into the cruise ship outbreak are underway, including identifying its source. Dr. Evans explains that hantavirus is not a typical cruise ship pathogen. Unlike Norovirus or respiratory viruses that move easily between passengers, hantaviruses are spread primarily through contact with the urine, feces, or saliva of infected rodents. With one important exception. Andean virus, which circulates in Chile and Argentina, is the only documented hantavirus transmitted from person to person, and it is rare. The Hondius story is tragic, but it is also a useful reminder that preparedness is not just a problem for the cruise industry. It’s a problem for any system that moves people through environments where new pathogens live, Evans adds.
The hantavirus is nothing like the coronavirus, but it does bring with it some ‘Covid-PTSD’. Health experts, aware of the scars Covid has left on people, including those still dealing with it, have tried to dispel comparisons between the hantavirus and the coronavirus. They said this week that the viruses spread very differently and were not close in size.
How do you get the hantavirus?
Although rare, hantaviruses are a genus of viruses transmitted primarily from rodents to humans. Only one strain, known as Andean virus, has been documented as potentially spreading from person to person, although such transmission is rare and typically requires close contact.
“There is no concrete evidence that there is human-to-human transmission for most hantaviruses,” he says Safder Ganaie, Ph.D.an assistant professor of molecular genetics and microbiology at the University of Florida College of Medicine and member of the UF Emerging Pathogens Institute.
“This is not the next COVID, but it is a serious infectious disease,” Maria Van Kerkhove, director of epidemic and pandemic preparedness at the World Health Organization, told The Associated Press. “Most people will never come into contact with this.” Hantavirus infections are relatively rare worldwide. According to the World Health Organization, eight countries in the Americas had documented 229 cases and 59 deaths by 2025.
How concerned should we be about this outbreak?
This outbreak is serious, but is unlikely to pose a widespread public threat. The spread of hantavirus from person to person is rare and usually requires very close contact. We know that there is genetic diversity within hantavirus. For example, while the Andean strain can be transmitted from person to person, this is unlikely to be the case with most hantaviruses. We need to track where and when hantaviruses circulate in different species that share our environment.
Most of the public attention to the cruise ship outbreaks has focused on the megaships, large ships carrying thousands of passengers, advanced medical facilities and the ability to reach a major port within hours. Evans explains that the Hondius is a different category of ship. It is a small expedition ship that operates in some of the most remote waters on Earth, with one doctor on board, stopping at islands such as Saint Helena and Ascension that have minimal medical infrastructure. These “Expedition Cruises” offer unique expenses.
If you’re considering an expedition cruise, here are five questions every traveler should ask before booking your cruise.
- What can the on-board doctor actually treat and what would require evacuation?
- How long would an evacuation take for each part of the itinerary?
- Does the ship have diagnostic tests on board?
- Does my insurance cover a written air ambulance from a remote location?
- And given my own health, is this trip something my doctor would recommend?
Expedition cruises are the fastest growing sector of the cruise industry, combining exploration and adventure in off-the-beaten-path places aboard ships designed to sail in some of the world’s most remote places. But before you book your cruise, ask the right questions to make sure it works for you.