17 Americans Monitored for Hantavirus After Deadly Cruise Ship Outbreak

Seventeen American passengers who traveled aboard the Dutch cruise ship MV Hondius during a deadly hantavirus outbreak are being closely monitored after returning to U.S. soil, with federal health officials taking the situation “very, very seriously,” according to the CDC.

The Americans, who are reportedly asymptomatic and in good health, have returned to several states including New Jersey, Virginia, Georgia, Texas, Arizona and California. Health officials in those states are already in contact with the individuals and monitoring their conditions.

The CDC has announced that the American passengers still on board will be escorted to the University of Nebraska at Omaha’s National Quarantine Unit, the country’s only federally funded facility of its kind, where they will be assessed and monitored before being released.

As of the latest reports, there are eight confirmed or suspected cases of hantavirus linked to the vessel, with approximately 30 to 40 people who have disembarked since the first reported death.

Outbreak Originated on Wildlife Expedition

The MV Hondius, a Dutch-flagged cruise vessel, was carrying crew and passengers on a wildlife expedition across the Atlantic Ocean, with stops in South America and West Africa. Two weeks into the trip, a man from the Netherlands suddenly became very ill and died five days later at sea. His wife accompanied his body to shore in South Africa, where she also passed away. Both passengers were confirmed to be infected with hantavirus.

Some officials believe the couple contracted the virus during a birdwatching excursion in Argentina. A woman from Germany has also since died from the virus.

An emergency physician said that while hantavirus is “certainly serious and definitely deadly,” it is not a replay of COVID-19. The physician emphasized that the virus is not casually transmitted in public settings like grocery stores, nor through shared saliva, bedding or sleeping arrangements. However, officials are still conducting contact tracing out of caution.

No Sustained Human-to-Human Transmission Seen

Health officials at the University of Nebraska noted that hantavirus has not previously caused sustained human-to-human transmission. “This is not a new virus,” officials said. “This is a virus that has been around for a while in Argentina and Chile… We have not seen sustained human-to-human transmission as we saw with COVID. Two very different viruses, two very different risk profiles. I do not see this as progressing to a worldwide pandemic, although there are still a lot of unknowns.”

Officials say the outbreak remains confined to the ship.

Tomorrow is described as a critical day, when all American passengers from the ship are expected to return home to the U.S. At that point, they have a choice: voluntarily quarantine at the health facility in Nebraska, or go home and promise to monitor their own health very closely for at least 40 days, reporting any symptoms.

Doctors say hantavirus presents in patients like a severe flu and can quickly become a fatal respiratory distress. Survivors of the infection say it is nothing to take lightly.

Separate Norovirus Outbreak on Another Cruise Ship

Separately, health officials are tracking a medical emergency on a different cruise ship, a Princess Cruises vessel carrying approximately 1,100 people. The CDC is treating an outbreak of norovirus on the ship, where passengers and crew members have severe gastrointestinal problems and vomiting. The 13-day trip visited the Bahamas and the Dominican Republic and is due to dock back in Florida on Monday. Crew members are working to prevent further spread.