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.

 

[DaveE]

 

[Astronuc]

I had not heard of Sin Nombre virus. The Spanish term "sin nombre" translates to English "without name".
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sin_Nombre_virus

The genome of SNV is about 12.3 kilobases (kb) in length and segmented into three negative-sense, single-stranded RNA (-ssRNA) strands. The small strand encodes the viral nucleoprotein, the medium strand encodes the viral spike protein, which attaches to cell receptors for entry into cells, and the long strand encodes the viral RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp), which replicates and transcribes the genome. Genome segments are encased in nucleoproteins to form ribonucleoprotein (RNP) complexes that are surrounded by a viral envelope that contains spikes emanating from its surface

It is an orthohantavirus, Orthohantavirus sinnombreense (12.3 kilobases), which appears to be different from the Andes Hantavirus, Orthohantavirus andesense (12.1 kilobases), but both having three negative-sense, single-stranded RNA strands, and ostensibly replicating by the same method.

So the currrent hantavirus of concern, the Andes hantavirus, is not necessarily the same as the hantavirus the resulted in the death of Betsy Arakawa, although she reportedly had Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome.

Twenty-nine (29) people left the cruise ship MV Hondius from St Helena on April 2026. Some were US citizens who returned to states of Virginia, Georgia, Texas, Arizona and California. Apparently, they are being monitored for symptoms.

More than two dozen passengers from 12 countries disembarked from the cruise ship on April 24 in St. Helena, a British territory. That included six Americans, according to the cruise ship’s operator, Oceanwide Expeditions. Some of those passengers are now in Arizona, California, Georgia and Virginia, according to authorities in those states.

Seventeen American passengers remained on the cruise ship as of Monday [4 May 2026].

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/heal...parture-hinder-hantavirus-response-rcna344031

Reported Cases of Hantavirus Disease
https://www.cdc.gov/hantavirus/data-research/cases/index.html

As of the end of 2023, 890 cases of hantavirus disease were reported in the US since surveillance began in 1993.

Some infections have been reported since the beginning of 2024.

The genome of ANDV is about 12.1 kilobases (kb) in length and segmented into three negative-sense, single-stranded RNA (-ssRNA) strands. The small strand encodes the viral nucleoprotein, the medium strand encodes the viral spike protein, which attaches to cell receptors for entry into cells, and the long strand encodes the viral RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp), which replicates and transcribes the genome. Genome segments are encased in nucleoproteins to form ribonucleoprotein (RNP) complexes that are surrounded by a viral envelope that contains spikes emanating from its surface.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andes_virus

There does appear to be several variants in Chile.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andes_virus#Strains

Edit/Update:

NEW JERSEY (WABC) -- Two New Jersey residents are being monitored after they were potentially exposed to a person infected with hantavirus after the person departed the MV Hondius cruise ship.

The two people were not passengers on the cruise ship and officials say the potential exposure happened during air travel abroad.

https://abc7ny.com/post/hantavirus-...idents-following-potential-exposure/19064583/

The incubation period ranges from four to 42 days and asymptomatic persons are not considered infectious.

https://6abc.com/post/2-new-jersey-...us-connected-cruise-ship-mv-hondius/19064581/

In addition to US, folks who left St Helena tarveled to Canada, New Zealand, UK, Turkey, Germany, Sweden, Indonesia and possibly Denmark. The Spanish government is establishing a repatriation process for the remaining passengers, including 17 Americans who continued the voyage from St Helena to the Canary Islands.

 

[sbrothy]

Hantavirus causing hermorrhagic fever sounds almost like Ebola, but unlike Ebola which transmits through body fluids

Hantaviruses are transmitted mainly through aerosols and droplets that contain rodent excretions, as well as through contaminated food, bites, and scratches. Environmental factors such as rainfall, temperature, and humidity influence transmission.

---- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orthohantavirus

Sorry for the Wiki-link, I don't think (or rather hope) that's there's a larger epidemic on it way.

Who do you think had their rabbits with them on the cruise?

 

[Zaciekawiony]

It should be clear noted that viruses from the hantavirus group have low human-to-human contagion. Just a few years ago, a medical review of the Andes virus deemed reports by doctors in Argentina of human-to-human transmission unreliable. Therefore, the most likely scenario for this ship passengers is that all those infected had contact with mice and their droppings on land before setting sail. This is more similar to food poisoning – those who ate contaminated food become ill, and no one else will contract it.
Hantaviruses are also present in Europe. Strains such as Puumala and Saaremaa are usually asymptomatic and are detected incidentally, causing illness very rarely. The most dangerous is the Dobrava-Belgrade hantavirus, which occurs in the Balkans and accounts 10-20 cases annually with a mortality rate of 10%. Despite its long presence on the continent, it hasn't caused an epidemic because it is difficult to transmit.

 

[sbrothy]

Exactly my (rather convoluted) point. How many droplets containing rodent excretions would one expect to find on a cruise ship. Hence my comment on who brought their rabbit.