That’s how the hantavirus spread on a cruise ship, according to health experts

A hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship in the Atlantic Ocean has raised questions about how the rare, often fatal disease could spread among passengers and crew, and whether it could continue to infect some of the 150 people now aboard the ship.

There have been at least eight suspected or confirmed cases of arrest on the cruise ship, including three deaths.

While it is commonly transmitted to humans through contact with contaminated rat droppings, the strain of hantavirus found in cruise ship passengers has been transmitted between humans in the past, albeit to a very limited extent. The origin of this disease is still unclear.

“We believe that there may be person-to-person transmission that occurs between people who are very close, husband and wife, people who share closets,” said Maria Van Kerkhove, the World Health Organization’s director of epidemiology and pandemic preparedness and prevention, at a news conference on Tuesday. He was talking about a couple who died of suspected hantavirus after spending time on the MV Hondius, a Dutch cruise ship. a focal point with an apparent breakout while charting a week long trip.

Van Kerkhove suggested that the husband and wife may have contracted the virus while exploring wildlife in Argentina, before they joined the cruise. He said the UN health organization often operates under the assumption that the virus came from outside the ship.

“Their trip stopped at many islands off the coast of Africa, and I saw a lot of wild animals on those islands. There are birds. Some islands have a lot of rats. Some don’t,” said Van Kerkhove. “Therefore, there may be a source of infection in the islands and other suspected cases.”

One known strain of hantavirus spreads among humans

Hantaviruses are a family of viruses that can cause severe respiratory symptoms, and even death, in people around the world, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. People usually get the virus only after coming into contact with airborne particles from feces, urine or saliva.

But on Wednesday, the WHO confirmed that the virus in the cruise ship outbreak was of the Andes strain. As the agency has previously stated, that particular strain is the only variant of hantavirus with previously reported cases of human-to-human transmission, and it is responsible for many cases of illness in South America.

The largest outbreak of the Andes strain was in Argentina in 2018, resulting in 34 cases and 11 deaths, said CBS News medical correspondent Dr. Céline Gounder. The Argentine province that includes Ushuaia, where the ship departed on April 1, has not reported a case of hantavirus, according to Gounder, suggesting it may have been encountered at a stopover or on a trip elsewhere.

Person-to-person transmission requires “long-term close contact,” he said, adding, “this is not an epidemic type of virus.”

“That also raises the question of whether multiple passengers were exposed to the same contaminated environment, meaning that some cases may not have been spread from person to person,” Gounder said.

He emphasized that hantavirus remains rare, with fewer than 900 cases in 30 years in the US.

The cruise operator, Oceanwide Expeditions, said a 70-year-old Dutch man died on the ship on April 11. The man’s wife, 69, died about two weeks later in South Africa, after disembarking. His condition “became worse during the flight to Johannesburg,” officials said. According to the South African Ministry of Health, the woman’s blood was found to be infected with the Andes strain of hantavirus.

A British passenger who was flown from Hondius to South Africa on April 27 also tested positive for the Andes strain, authorities said, and health officials described him as critically ill.

On Wednesday, a Swiss man on board tested positive for the Andes strain and is being cared for, authorities there said.

There were at least four suspected cases, including a German national who died on the ship on May 2, the WHO said. Three others – British, Dutch and German – were taken off the ship on Wednesday for specialist treatment in the Netherlands, officials said. Two of them had symptoms and the third was close to the passenger who died on May 2, Oceanwide Expeditions said.

The ship has been docked on the island of Cape Verde on the west coast of Africa for a few days. Cape Verde sent medical teams to help the crew of Hondius but prevented the ship from entering its ports due to health problems.

Ann Lindstrand, the WHO representative in Cape Verde, wants to allay fears of cruise ships, which are rarely linked to hantavirus despite being hotspots for outbreaks of other types of disease, such as norovirus. Asked how much of a threat hantavirus is, he said: “Not at all.”

“we hear”

After sick passengers were evacuated from the Hondius and boarded an ambulance boat in Cape Verde, the ship on Wednesday was expected to head to the Canary Islands, Spain, following a back-and-forth with regional leaders there.

Spain’s Health Ministry said passengers who remain asymptomatic will be “tested and transferred” once the ship docks in Tenerife, and international passengers will be returned unless their health condition prevents them.

Earlier, Lindstrand told CBS News that passengers and crew may need to be isolated for up to eight weeks, as the incubation period for the virus can be that long. However, he admitted that such “stressful” circumstances may exist.

Another passenger, travel writer Jake Rosmarin, touched on that in an emotional social media video shared Monday, saying, “There’s a lot of uncertainty, and that’s the hardest part. What we want right now is to feel safe, clear and get home.”

Officials realized that the situation was frightening for those on board.

“We heard about a few people on the boat,” Van Kerkhove said at a press conference on Tuesday. “We just want you to know that we are working with the ship’s management. We are working with the countries you come from. We hear you. We know you are afraid.”