Hantavirus outbreak aboard ship MV Hondius; virus present in Argentina

[Astronuc]

Several days ago, an outbreak of Hantavirus was reported aboard cruise ship MV Hondius, which apparently set sail from Argentina.

PRAIA, Cape Verde (AP) — Footage obtained by The Associated Press of a cruise ship at the center of a rare-virus outbreak shows deserted decks and gathering areas, medical teams in protective gear, and a still landscape ahead as the vessel and its nearly 150 passengers and crew waited another day off the coast of West Africa.

Three passengers have died and at least four people have been sick in what health officials say is an outbreak of hantavirus, which usually spreads by inhaling contaminated rodent droppings. The World Health Organization said passengers are isolating in their cabins.

Ref: https://apnews.com/article/hantavir...dius-footage-c6b3db5ab10fefbd9ece0b036e47188b


Hantavirus is on the rise in Argentina, where a stricken cruise ship began its journey
https://apnews.com/article/argentina-hantavirus-cruise-ship-5841c25be9aa6dd3cd6edc81c74609de

Hantavirus cases now suspected in 5 countries as authorities scramble to contain outbreak
https://www.cnn.com/2026/05/07/world/hantavirus-ship-tenerife-outbreak-intl

Three people – a Dutch couple and a German national – have died since the vessel departed Argentina last month.


The outbreak has been linked to the Andes strain of hantavirus, a rare but potentially severe virus that in some cases can spread between humans through close contact.

What doctors know about how the Andes hantavirus spreads
https://www.cnn.com/2026/05/06/health/andes-strain-hantavirus-explained

In 2018, health authorities in southern Argentina were racing, trying to understand what had caused nearly three dozen people in the tiny village of Epuyen to fall gravely ill. By the end of the outbreak, 11 of them had died.

Their illness, which caused many to be admitted to intensive care for pneumonia and severe breathing problems, was caused by the Andes virus, a strain of rodent-carried hantavirus capable of being transmitted from person to person. It is the same virus that’s believed to have sickened eight passengers traveling on the MV Hondius cruise ship, which is sailing to a port in the Canary Islands.

Before the Epuyen outbreak, very little was known about the Andes strain, said Dr. Gustavo Palacios, a microbiologist at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York.

I don't know if this is the same virus, but it is a Hantavirus.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andes_virus

The virus has been present for some time.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7101103/

Pathogenic hantaviruses are members of the family Hantaviridae and genus Orthohantavirus. These viruses are responsible for hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) in the Americas. In Argentina, HPS was first described in 1995 during an outbreak in the Andean region of Patagonia, leading to the characterization of Andes virus (ANDV) (1). Since then, >1,200 cases have been confirmed in Argentina (2,3).

Hantaviruses are enveloped, single-stranded, RNA viruses with tripartite negative sense genomes. The small (S, 1.8–2.1 kb) segment encodes a nucleocapsid protein, the medium (M, 3.6–3.8 kb) a glycoprotein precursor, and the large (L, 6.5–6.7 kb) an RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (4).

Ostensibly, there may be cases in neighboring Chile.

Edit/update:
https://www.usatoday.com/story/ente...ckman-wife-death-cruise-outbreak/89974116007/

Hantavirus, the rodent-borne virus at the center of an outbreak on a cruise ship in the Atlantic Ocean, is the same infection that killed Betsy Arakawa, the wife of late actor Gene Hackman.

Hackman and Arakawa were both found dead in their Santa Fe, New Mexico, home in February 2025. Hackman, 95, died from natural causes, but had heart disease and complications caused by Alzheimer's disease. Arakawa, 65, died from hantavirus pulmonary syndrome.

More than a year later, the virus that killed Arakawa is back in the spotlight after three people who traveled on board the MV Hondius cruise ship have died from it. A total of eight cases, including five confirmed and three suspected, have been tied to the cruise ship outbreak, according to the World Health Organization.

There have been isolated cases of hantavirus exposure in the US. I believe the cases were found in Arizona and/or New Mexico, and apparently California.

Epidemiologic and Environmental Investigations of Reported Hantavirus Cases Inform Exposure Risk in California, 1993–2020​

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12676593/

https://monohealth.com/environmental-health/page/hantavirus-0

California is monitoring 3 people who may have been exposed on the cruise.

 

[ShriyaK]

A deadly hantavirus outbreak (specifically Andes virus) on the expedition cruise ship MV Hondius has resulted in three deaths and multiple illnesses among passengers traveling from Argentina to Cape Verde. The outbreak, reported in early May 2026, involved severe pneumonia and is causing international concern due to rare human-to-human transmission possibilities and passengers dispersing to several countries.

Visit Site

 

[DaveE]