The Atlantic A hantavirus outbreak is serious and unnerving. Norovirus loves a cruise ship. So did the coronavirus responsible for COVID-19. The crowded rooms, stuffy air, and communal dining of a giant boat filled with humans create the ideal conditions for pathogens to spread. Now hantavirus—a highly deadly rodent-borne pathogen that typically spreads when people breathe in the aerosolized feces or other bodily secretions of infected animals—may have discovered this too: The world now appears to be experiencing its first documented cruise-ship hantavirus outbreak.
Over the weekend, health officials contacted the World Health Organization to report a cluster of serious illnesses aboard a cruise ship bound for South Africa. Among the roughly 150 passengers and crew on board, three have died and four have fallen ill—one critically. The vessel, the MV Hondius, is now anchored off the coast of Cabo Verde, as those on the ship await further instructions.
he situation is serious and frankly a bit unnerving. For now, officials are scrambling to assess the situation. Only two of the seven supposed cases of hantavirus have been confirmed by laboratory testing; the rest are still “suspected,” according to the WHO. And as health officials investigate, more cases may appear. Hantavirus can simmer in the body for weeks before sparking symptoms, and the seven people who have fallen sick so far might have all caught the virus through a common animal exposure before they got on the ship.