WHO Warns Hantavirus May Have Spread Between Cruise Ship Passengers

The World Health Organization warned that the hantavirus outbreak aboard the MV Hondius cruise ship may involve human-to-human transmission, a rare route for the pathogen. The agency said the two confirmed cases on board are linked to the Andes strain, and that investigators have not been able to trace direct rodent exposure for all patients. Three people connected to the outbreak have died.

South Africa's health ministry confirmed the cases are caused by the Andes strain, the only hantavirus type known to occasionally pass between people, and one historically circulating in Chile and Argentina. A WHO spokesperson said the chain of transmission on board remains under investigation. Authorities have isolated symptomatic passengers and will monitor close contacts through the 42-day incubation window.

Hundreds of passengers remain on board under quarantine measures as the vessel sails toward the Canary Islands. Public-health agencies in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and other countries are tracing travellers who disembarked earlier. The WHO said strengthened surveillance and rapid contact-tracing will be essential to contain the outbreak and characterise how the virus is spreading.