A rare hantavirus outbreak aboard a cruise ship has left three people dead and dozens more under monitoring, but global health authorities are pushing back against fears of a new pandemic.
The MV Hondius, which departed from South America on April 1 and traveled through Antarctica and remote Atlantic islands, saw eight confirmed infections—five of them backed by lab tests—according to the World Health Organization. Two patients and one suspected case were evacuated Wednesday in Praia, Cape Verde, with medical teams in full protective gear. The ship then sailed toward Spain's Canary Islands, where nearly 150 passengers and crew remain isolated in their cabins.
WHO epidemic expert Maria Van Kerkhove sought to calm anxieties. “This is not the next COVID, but it is a serious infectious disease,” she said. “Most people will never be exposed to this.”
In the United States, hantavirus has been tracked by the CDC since a 1993 outbreak in the Four Corners region—where Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah meet. As of 2023, nearly 900 cases have been confirmed nationwide, with roughly half occurring in that region and California. Colorado and New Mexico each reported over 120 cases. Ten states have never recorded a case.
The virus spreads through contact with rodents or their droppings and can cause hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS), a severe lung infection. Deer mice are the primary carriers in the U.S., though a 2024 study found more than 30 rodent and small mammal species—including ground squirrels, chipmunks, and gophers—can carry the virus in the Southwest. Last year, the wife of actor Gene Hackman and several Californians died from HPS.
Dr. Sonja Bartolome of UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas noted that early symptoms mimic the flu. “Early in the illness, you really may not be able to tell the difference between hantavirus and having the flu,” she said. There is no specific treatment, but early medical care improves survival odds.
The cruise ship outbreak involves the Andes virus, a South American strain that can spread person-to-person—unlike most hantaviruses. The Dutch health ministry reported Thursday that a flight attendant who briefly interacted with an infected passenger in South Africa showed symptoms and was hospitalized in Amsterdam. That passenger, a Dutch woman, was too ill to continue her flight and died in Johannesburg. If the flight attendant tests positive, she would be the first known infection outside the MV Hondius.
None of the remaining passengers or crew aboard the ship currently show symptoms, the ship's operator said. Meanwhile, the WHO is working with European and African health officials to trace contacts who left the vessel earlier.
For U.S. readers, the CDC advises avoiding rodent contact and cleaning droppings with gloves and a bleach solution—never sweeping or vacuuming, which can aerosolize the virus. For more on where the disease strikes most often in America, see our breakdown of hantavirus hotspots. The broader outbreak saga is detailed in our coverage of the WHO evacuation.
