Three die on Atlantic cruise ship from suspected hantavirus: WHO

My aunt died on a cruise. At the dinner table, she had a massive stroke and died instantly. That’s how I would like to go.

Big Mike, I saw a headline about that on one of the local news feeds today. That's a very dangerous virus and there are two components to it, a pulmonary syndrome and a renal syndrome. I'm not sure what the risk level is but it could be a Level 3 or Level 4 virus (diseases like Ebola and Marburg are Level 4, the most serious). I'm not sure that cruise ship medical facilities are equipped to deal with something like that? In this case, hopefully they can find the source.

“Wash your hands, folks!”

Hantavirus is spread with aerosolized droplets.

I’m the first to say that handwashing is essential on a cruise or anywhere shared serving utensils are present. However, that doesn’t seem to have a great deal to do with this actual outbreak. It appears as if their exposure happened while they were on shore.

You’re correct Carol. This doesn’t seem to be your typical cruise ship disease outbreak. Given that the ship is owned by a Dutch travel company and that there are a lot of Dutch nationals on board, this incident is all over the news here. From what is known about the disease, its incubation process and incubation period and the times and places the infected persons first showed symptoms, it’s very likely they became infected during an on-shore activity.
So while washing your hands regularly is a good thing, it doesn’t do anything to prevent you from getting infected with the Hantavirus.

Hantavirus is uncommon, but occurs all over the US. The incubation period is 1 to 8 weeks! I think of it everytime I check my attic mouse traps.

It's a bad one but isn't spread (or is very rarely spread, anyway) from person-to-person contact like some others. It's a reason we've been warned to avoid rodent nests, areas with droppings, etc, when we've spent time hiking in the Southwest U.S. where it's most likely to occur. You don't want to sweep up droppings if you see them, say, in a cabin as that can release the dust containing the virus into the air. Spray them with disinfectant, wipe them up (wear gloves if possible to avoid any contact), and throw the paper towels into a receptacle outside. Clean other nearby surfaces as well.

https://www.cdc.gov/healthy-pets/rodent-control/clean-up.html

On a Caribbean cruise, we had a passenger that had a heart attack. They off-loaded him at the next port, I think it was Grenada. An ambulance met him at the dock. Shortly thereafter, we saw his wife and all their luggage on the dock. So they were left there. Another reason to think about travel insurance.

In March 2020 We were on a 14-day Panama Canal sailing. As things shut down because of the pandemic, all but two of our seven port days were cancelled and the crew had to be creative as the entertainment could not board and supplies ran low. Our cruise line attempted to mitigate the spread of the virus by instituting hand washing stations and requiring crew members to mask and wear plastic gloves. Since passengers were accessing daily press briefings and news reports we eventually received daily announcements about the situation on the ship. Our ship was the last to allow passengers to disembark. Several people were admitted to the hospital in San Diego with Covid; one died. The crew had been scheduled for a training cruise in Alaska, but instead was quarantined for 6 months once they arrived there.

While hantavirus is an airborne pathogen--like measles--there are many other 'bugs' that can easily spread on cruise ships. We are constantly amazed by the number of people who ignore the still-present handwashing stations outside of onboard restaurants. Also, while some folks who have colds and coughs wear masks many others don't. If a cruise is a once-in-a-lifetime event people are reluctant to stay in their staterooms if they don't feel well.

Yes, thank you. I understand hand washing doesn't help against hantavirus, but there's no use worrying about something beyond our control.

But hand washing can prevent the easily transmissible norovirus, which is the most common cause of GI outbreaks on cruise ships. Don't ask me how I know.

One thing to keep in mind is hand sanitizer is ineffective against norovirus, so if you use common utensils at a buffet for example it won't help. I suppose the only alternative is to wear plastic gloves or wash your hands before eating.

You have to assume that some people at the buffet are sick and thus take appropriate precautions.

Same disease that killed Gene Hackman's wife I believe

Hopefully all ships these days are using Rat Guards on their mooring lines. I've seen several videos lately where those were absent. I suspect all ships these days will be inspecting their vessels a bit more thoroughly to make sure that no rodents have made it onboard.

The most likely scenario is that passengers on board contracted the virus from the feces, urine or saliva of infected rats or mice. That’s the usual transmission vector, according to physician Zaid Fadul, a former Air Force flight surgeon.

But there’s one strain of the hantavirus that has an alarming exception.

“The Andes virus – that one specific subtype of the hantavirus – in Argentina, where they were, is the one that’s transmitted person-to-person,” Fadul said.

Big Mike, thanks for the info. about the Andes subtype being transmissable between humans. That may explain how the ship's doctor got it.

Right, CJean. Bigtyke, here's the CDC U.S. map of cases 1993- 2022.
https://www.uchealth.org/today/take-precautions-with-hantavirus/

And even if you don't live in the states most heavily affected, they're very popular vacation destinations.

Regarding the Andes variant, I heard an interesting theory today on BBC. Apparently the Dutch couple were the first ones affected, and they boarded the ship in South America. That's only a theory of course, but an interesting one. If no rodents are found on the ship, that scenario is one good possibility.

Experts suggest this mind-boggling quarantine period for MV Hondius passengers facing terrifying hantavirus outbreak

Distraught passengers onboard the stranded MV Hondius could face quarantine for up to eight weeks, a health expert warned Tuesday – as officials scrambled to contain a deadly hantavirus outbreak on the cruise liner.

“I’m sure people are isolated or quarantined in their rooms or cabins, but unfortunately, that quarantine period can take up to eight weeks,” New Jersey-based emergency medicine physician Sampson Davis told The Post. “The virus usually has a quick onset, but it can linger up to about eight weeks before it has an impact.”

https://www.aol.com/articles/experts-suggest-mind-boggling-quarantine-221356944.html

It's a big controversy in Spain now because our PM has made available the autonomous community of the Canary Islands as docking/decontamination/medical care for this hanta virus cruise ship. Many locals do not want this, including the president of the autonomous community who said this decision has been made against his will, and says this is a potential danger of the islands. Also the tourism industry on the Canary Islands is also strongly opposed as they feel it will scare away tourists from the islands.

According to a Spanish passenger on the ship 23 people already got off on the island of St. Helena two weeks ago and have since returned to their home countries... so much for a quarantine. The WHO is now coordinating international contact tracing for these people.

He says “The Australian went back to Australia, the one from Taiwan to Taiwan, the Americans to all corners of North America. The Englishman to England, the Dutch to their homes… I don’t remember the rest, but no Spaniards,” the passenger explained by phone.

source: https://elpais.com/sociedad/2026-05-06/ultima-hora-del-brote-de-hantavirus-en-el-crucero-mv-hondius-en-directo.html

https://english.elpais.com/international/2026-05-06/spanish-passenger-on-the-hondius-there-are-23-people-who-got-off-on-saint-helena-and-have-been-wandering-around.html

This Cruise Attracted ‘a Different Type of Traveler

Former passengers on the MV Hondius say that the ship was made for wildlife expeditions and that the crew took safety very seriously.
The MV Hondius, the vessel at the center of a hantavirus outbreak, is no ordinary cruise ship. It does not have a round-the-clock bar or buffet service, according to passengers who have sailed on it before.
There are no swimming pools or hot tubs on deck. Sometimes, there are sniffer dogs to make sure passengers don’t bring contaminants on board when they go on shore to sensitive ecosystems. Other times, there are sanitized rubber boots.

Apparently sniffer dogs don't yet have the capacity to detect hantavirus. Unfortunate.

I've become somewhat inured to noroviruses, rotaviruses and COVID. Hantavirus scares the bejeebers out of me.

Carlos, other than the medical evacuations it appears those who left the ship did so before the hantavirus outbreak. The plan for the American passengers is to fly them to a quarantine center in Omaha, Nebraska.

Few things closer to hell on Earth than essentially being a prisoner on this ship.

President Batlle of the Canary Islands is justly concerned, although where else could the ship go?