An expert from WHO has stressed that the situation should not be compared to Covid-19, saying: “This is not SARS-CoV-2. This is not the start of a Covid pandemic."
Five cases of hantavirus linked to an outbreak on a cruise ship have now been confirmed, the World Health Organization (WHO) said, warning that more infections could still emerge because the virus can have an incubation period of up to six weeks.
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During a press conference today (7 May), WHO infectious disease epidemiologist Maria Van Kerkhove sought to distinguish the outbreak from the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic.
"I want to be unequivocal here. This is not SARS-CoV-2. This is not the start of a Covid pandemic. This is an outbreak that we see on a ship," she said. Van Kerkhove explained that hantavirus does not spread in the same way as coronaviruses, but rather through "close, intimate contact".
She added that measures being taken onboard the vessel are "precautionary to prevent any onward spread".
European authorities have also said the risk to the public remains low. "I have to repeat that according to the evidence that we have at the moment, the risk for the public in Europe, the risk for the Europeans is low," EU spokeswoman Eva Hrncirova said.
What happened on the MV Hondius?
Three passengers have died and eight others have been sickened by hantavirus on board the Dutch-flagged MV Hondius cruise ship, which remains marooned off the coast of Cape Verde with nearly 150 people onboard.
The ship left Argentina on 1 April on an Atlantic cruise and was scheduled to include stops in Antarctica, the Falkland Islands and other locations, though its itinerary has since changed due to the outbreak.
The head of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said three patients with suspected hantavirus cases have been evacuated and are on their way to the Netherlands.
“At this stage, the overall public health risk remains low,” he wrote on his X account.
Meanwhile, Maria Van Kerkhove of the WHO said officials are investigating possible human-to-human transmission - something considered extremely rare - and believe the first infected person likely contracted the virus before boarding. Authorities have also said there are no rats on board.
A case linked to the ship has also been confirmed in Switzerland, while health authorities in South Africa and Switzerland have identified a strain capable of spreading between humans in rare cases.
Passengers disembarked after first onboard death
Around 40 passengers disembarked from the cruise ship after the first passenger died onboard, Dutch officials say. The passengers left the MV Hondius during a stop at the remote South Atlantic island of St. Helena, according to the Dutch foreign ministry.
Among them was the wife of a 70-year-old Dutch passenger who died onboard after falling ill during the voyage. She later flew on a commercial flight to South Africa, where she collapsed and died in hospital.
The cruise operator, Oceanwide Expeditions, had previously only confirmed that the Dutch woman left the ship with her husband’s body and had not publicly acknowledged that dozens of other passengers also disembarked.
Dutch authorities did not say where the passengers who left the ship are now.
45 days of quarantine for Spanish passengers
The 14 Spaniards aboard the cruise ship MV Hondius will be taken to Tenerife before being transferred to Madrid, Spanish health authorities said.
They will undergo up to 45 days of quarantine in Spain’s most advanced isolation facility, at the Hospital Central de la Defensa Gómez Ulla in Madrid.
The High-Level Isolation Unit (UAAN) is a specialised facility created after the 2014 Ebola outbreak and previously used during COVID-19 evacuations from Wuhan.
What is hantavirus?
Hantavirus refers to a group of viruses carried by rodents, primarily transmitted to humans through inhalation of airborne particles from dried rodent droppings.
According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, hantaviruses can cause two serious illnesses.
The first is hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, which affects the lungs and can lead to severe respiratory failure. The second is haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome, which affects the kidneys and can cause serious complications.
