Hantavirus Outbreak on Cruise Ship: 8 Cases, 3 Deaths; Passengers Disembarking in Canary Islands
A rare hantavirus outbreak aboard the MV Hondius cruise ship has resulted in eight cases including three deaths. Passengers began disembarking in Spain's Canary Islands on May 10, with American passengers being repatriated to Nebraska under CDC supervision. Health authorities worldwide stress the public risk remains very low.
Outbreak Details
A total of eight cases, including three deaths, have been reported in an outbreak of hantavirus on a cruise ship. Five of the 8 cases have been confirmed as hantavirus. The hantavirus involved is the Andes virus, the only species known to be capable of limited transmission between humans, linked to close and prolonged contact.
Disembarkation and Response
This ship reached its destination in the Canary Islands on May 10, and the remaining passengers and some crew will be traveling to their home countries over the next few days. The 17 passengers will be received at the National Quarantine Unit, a secured facility on the University of Nebraska Medical Center campus in Omaha, said Dr. Michael Wadman, the unit's medical director. There, teams will assess them and determine any necessary quarantine measures, he told reporters Friday.
Public Health Assessment
"Based on scientific assessment and based on evidence, the risk (to the public) is low," WHO chief Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters on May 10 after the ship arrived in Tenerife, Spain. "So they shouldn't be scared and they shouldn't panic." It means the CDC is actively monitoring the situation, but the risk to the general public is low. The World Health Organization said the risk to the wider public remains low because hantavirus is not easily spread between people.
Origin and Containment
Investigations on the travel history and potential exposures of the first case in the Southern Cone subregion of the Americas are ongoing and suggest possible exposure to rodents during bird watching activities.