A deadly hantavirus outbreak aboard the expedition cruise ship MV Hondius has triggered comparisons to the COVID-19 pandemic after at least three passengers died and multiple others fell ill.
According to the World Health Organization, at least eight suspected or confirmed cases of hantavirus have been identified among the nearly 150 people onboard.
The ship had been stranded off the coast of Cabo Verde while officials searched for a port willing to accept the vessel. It is now heading toward the Canary Islands, where authorities plan to conduct a full outbreak investigation and decontamination process.
Several infected passengers have already been medically evacuated, including one critically ill patient being treated in South Africa, where laboratory testing first confirmed the outbreak.
What is the Andes strain of hantavirus?
Health officials believe the outbreak involves the rare Andes strain of hantavirus, which is primarily found in South America, particularly Argentina and Chile.
Unlike most hantaviruses, which typically spread through contact with infected rodents, droppings or urine, the Andes strain is the only known hantavirus capable of limited human-to-human transmission.
Maria Van Kerkhove said officials believe some passengers may have contracted the virus before boarding the ship in southern Argentina.
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“We do believe that there may be some human-to-human transmission that’s happening among the really close contacts,” Van Kerkhove said during a WHO briefing.
The cruise departed from Ushuaia, Argentina, on April 1 before traveling through Antarctica and remote South Atlantic islands. Passengers reportedly began falling ill while the ship was near St. Helena.
Experts say this is not another COVID situation
Despite growing online concern, infectious disease experts say the outbreak is highly unlikely to trigger a COVID-style pandemic or global lockdowns.
“This is not a COVID situation,” Kari Moore Debbink told Today.com.
“I don’t think people need to be terrified that this is all of a sudden going to start a pandemic,” she added, saying she would be “absolutely shocked” if that happened.
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Experts stress that the Andes strain spreads far less efficiently than SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19.
Mara Jana Broadhurst explained that documented human-to-human transmission involving the Andes strain has historically been limited to close household contacts or healthcare workers.
The WHO currently assesses the global public health risk from the outbreak as “low.”
Meanwhile, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the threat to the American public remains “extremely low.”
