Should You Be Worried About the MV Hondius Hantavirus Crisis? Deaths and Quarantine Fears Explained
A rare outbreak of Hantavirus aboard the MV Hondius cruise ship has drawn international attention after several passengers became seriously ill while traveling across the South Atlantic.
WHO says the MV Hondius hantavirus outbreak is serious but low risk as investigations continue into confirmed cases and deaths.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), five confirmed cases of hantavirus have been linked to the ship, with three deaths reported so far. One of the deceased was confirmed to have contracted the virus, while additional suspected cases remain under investigation.
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The situation has become increasingly difficult to follow because of conflicting information released by the WHO, Oceanwide Expeditions, and a travel influencer associated with the company. At the same time, the United States’ withdrawal from the WHO has reportedly limited American involvement in the international response.
What Happened on the MV Hondius?
The MV Hondius, a Dutch-registered polar expedition vessel, departed Ushuaia, Argentina, on April 1 carrying 114 guests and crew members for a lengthy Antarctic and South Atlantic journey.
Six days into the trip, a 70-year-old male passenger developed symptoms including fever, diarrhea, and headaches. He later died on April 11 while the vessel was still at sea.
Because of the ship’s remote location, it took nearly two weeks before it could reach Saint Helena, the first place where the body could reportedly be removed for repatriation. After arriving on April 24, the man’s wife also disembarked, experienced gastrointestinal symptoms, and died two days later.
Twenty-eight additional passengers left the ship in Saint Helena and traveled back to countries including the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye, Denmark, New Zealand, the Netherlands, and Saint Kitts and Nevis.
That same day, another male passenger began showing signs of pneumonia. He was evacuated to South Africa on April 27 and remains hospitalized in intensive care. Testing later confirmed he had a hantavirus infection. A separate passenger also died on May 2 from what appeared to be pneumonia.
Passengers who had already returned home received emails from Oceanwide Expeditions on May 4 informing them they had potentially been exposed to hantavirus. By then, they had already traveled internationally.
Why Health Officials Are Monitoring the Situation
Medical experts say hantavirus symptoms can take anywhere from one week to two months to appear, making monitoring especially important.
Kirsten Lyke, MD, an infectious disease specialist at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, explained that some passengers may not experience symptoms for weeks.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stressed that while the outbreak is serious, it should not cause widespread panic.
“We have five confirmed cases so far. This is not the same situation we were in six years ago.”
WHO officials currently assess the overall public health risk as low, while focusing on patient care, passenger safety, and preventing additional transmission.
How Did Hantavirus Get on the Ship?
Investigators are still trying to determine how the virus was introduced onboard.
Lyke said the leading theory is that the first identified couple may have been exposed in Argentina during outdoor tourist activities before boarding the cruise. Argentina reportedly has the highest incidence of hantavirus in Latin America.
Another possible explanation involves rodents onboard the vessel. Hantavirus is commonly transmitted through exposure to rodent urine, saliva, or feces.
The specific strain identified in the outbreak — the Andes strain — is particularly concerning because it is the only known hantavirus capable of spreading from person to person.
Symptoms and Mortality Risk
Early symptoms of hantavirus often resemble the flu before progressing into severe respiratory problems.
“They may not be coughing up stuff, but gradually, they’ll have a harder and harder time breathing, and then that can lead to shock and affect other organs,” Lyke says.
According to the WHO, hantavirus mortality rates in the Americas can reach up to 50 percent.
There is currently no approved treatment beyond supportive medical care. Experimental antiviral approaches have reportedly not produced meaningful results.
Possible Long-Term Quarantine
Experts believe passengers and crew aboard the MV Hondius could remain quarantined for as long as eight weeks after the last active transmission or removal of infected individuals.
Ann Lindstrand, WHO’s representative in Cape Verde, acknowledged the difficulty of such restrictions, stating that “eight weeks is a horribly long time to be in quarantine.”
The Associated Press reported that the ship was heading toward the Canary Islands, where Spanish authorities planned to place it in an isolated and cordoned-off area.
Impact of the U.S. Withdrawal From WHO
Public health experts say the United States’ exit from the WHO has complicated access to outbreak information and international coordination.
David Larsen, PhD, chair of the public health department at Syracuse University, noted that CDC hantavirus specialists were not among the earliest investigators involved.
“It’s not ideal to not be in the loop on infectious disease outbreaks,” Larsen said.
The withdrawal has also cut off American access to WHO surveillance databases, limiting direct participation in global monitoring efforts.
Larsen additionally criticized budget cuts made to the CDC’s Vessel Sanitation Program in 2025, which led to the loss of all full-time employees responsible for cruise ship inspections and outbreak investigations.
“You can’t gut an agency then expect it to do a job,” he explained.
Should People Be Worried?
U.S. public health officials are monitoring passengers who returned from the cruise to states including Georgia, Texas, Virginia, Arizona, and California. So far, authorities say none have shown symptoms.
Experts also emphasize that hantavirus is far less contagious than viruses such as SARS-CoV-2.
On average, a person infected with the Andes virus infects fewer than one additional person, compared to much higher transmission rates associated with Covid-19.
Lyke described hantavirus as “very uncommon,” noting that only 890 cases were reported in the United States between 1993 and 2023.
WHO officials continue to urge calm.
“I want to be unequivocal here: this is not SARS-CoV-2,” said Maria Van Kerkhove. “This is not the start of a Covid pandemic.”
