- Deadly hantavirus outbreak linked to cruise ship MV Hondius.
- Rare Andes strain, capable of human-to-human spread, detected.
- Three passengers died; three others evacuated with illness.
- Health officials downplay global spread fears, cite low risk.
A luxury expedition through remote waters has turned into a growing international health emergency. Authorities are now closely monitoring a deadly hantavirus outbreak linked to the Dutch cruise ship MV Hondius, where multiple passengers and crew members have fallen ill and three travellers have died.
What has intensified concern among global health officials is the discovery of the Andes strain of hantavirus, a rare variant that, unlike most hantaviruses, can spread between humans under certain conditions.
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Rare Andes Virus Detected Among Cruise Ship Cases
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), patients connected to the outbreak have tested positive for the Andes hantavirus strain, a rodent-borne virus primarily found in South America.
The MV Hondius departed from Argentina on April 1. Since then, three passengers have died, while three others, including two crew members and another individual who had close contact with a confirmed case, have been evacuated from the vessel.
Health experts stress that hantavirus infections are usually contracted through exposure to infected rodent urine, droppings, or saliva. Human-to-human transmission is considered extremely uncommon for most strains.
The Andes strain, however, is the exception.
Why The Andes Strain Is Different
The Andes hantavirus is endemic in parts of South America, including Argentina, where the voyage began. Scientists say it remains one of the least understood hantavirus variants because documented cases of human transmission are rare.
Dr Gustavo Palacios, a microbiologist at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York, told CNN that there may have been only around 300 documented cases of person-to-person transmission in history, out of roughly 3,000 total Andes virus infections.
Research has also suggested that the Andes strain may resist the antiviral properties found in human saliva that appear to neutralise other hantavirus variants before they spread.
That distinction has made the current outbreak particularly alarming for health authorities monitoring the ship.
How Dangerous Is The Andes Hantavirus?
Most hantavirus infections are considered ‘dead-end’ infections, meaning an infected person does not usually transmit the disease to others. The Andes strain breaks that pattern.
Experts say transmission generally requires prolonged and close contact with an infected person, especially exposure to bodily fluids. According to researchers, the period when an infected person is most contagious is short, roughly around the day a fever develops.
Still, scientists emphasise that human-to-human transmission remains extremely rare.
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Symptoms And Fatality Rate
The Andes strain can cause hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, a severe illness that often begins with flu-like symptoms, including fever and chills, before rapidly progressing to breathing difficulties and lung complications.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says the Andes strain is the deadliest known hantavirus variant. Around 40 per cent of infected patients have died.
By comparison, the Sin Nombre strain, the most common hantavirus strain identified in the southwestern United States, carries a fatality rate of about 25 per cent.
There is currently no approved vaccine or specific antiviral treatment for the Andes hantavirus.
Is This The Next Covid-19?
The outbreak has inevitably triggered comparisons to the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, particularly because infections emerged in the confined setting of a cruise ship.
But global health officials insist the situations are very different. Out of roughly 150 passengers onboard, the WHO has reported eight suspected cases, with three laboratory-confirmed infections. Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO’s top epidemic expert, said the outbreak should not be viewed as another Covid-like event.
“This is not the next Covid, but it is a serious infectious disease,” she said. “Most people will never be exposed to this.”
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also downplayed fears of wider global spread, saying the overall risk to the world remains low.
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