Health officials in at least 12 countries, including the United States, are monitoring dozens of passengers linked to a deadly hantavirus outbreak aboard the cruise ship MV Hondius. While the situation has sparked international concern, the World Health Organization (WHO) says the outbreak is not considered a pandemic threat and the public risk remains low.
Passengers Tracked Across Multiple Countries
Former passengers from the cruise ship have now spread across several countries after leaving the vessel during its journey. In the U.S., health officials confirmed passengers are currently located in Arizona, California, Georgia, Texas, and Virginia. So far, none have shown symptoms of hantavirus.
The CDC and the U.S. State Department said they are closely monitoring the situation, stressing that the risk to the American public is “extremely low.”
The outbreak has already been linked to three deaths, including a Dutch couple and a German national. Officials have also confirmed five cases and three suspected infections connected to the ship.
Life Aboard the MV Hondius
Passengers still on the ship say the atmosphere has become calmer after medical teams and experts boarded the vessel. Travelers are being asked to remain in their cabins while crews disinfect shared spaces. Anyone showing symptoms will immediately be isolated.
Passenger Kasem Ibn Hattuta described the mood onboard as controlled and hopeful.
“Everyone is keeping high spirit,” he said, adding that passengers are wearing masks indoors and maintaining distance from one another.
Dr. Stephen Kornfeld, another passenger and physician, stepped in to help after the ship’s doctor became ill.
“As things deteriorated and more people got sick, I ended up trying to keep everybody going,” he told reporters.
Kornfeld said no new illnesses have appeared in the last week and confirmed that WHO epidemiologists and infectious disease specialists are now onboard assisting with medical care.
What Is Hantavirus?
Hantavirus is a rare but potentially deadly disease usually spread through contact with infected rodents. However, officials confirmed the outbreak involves the Andes strain, which can spread between humans through close personal contact.
Health experts stress that it does not spread as easily as airborne illnesses like COVID-19 or influenza.
According to CDC data, there were only 890 confirmed hantavirus cases in the U.S. between 1993 and 2023.
Concerns Over Passengers Who Left the Ship
Weeks after the first death was reported on April 11, 29 passengers left the ship on the remote island of St. Helena without full contact tracing. Oceanwide Expeditions, the cruise operator, said it is now working to locate all passengers who disembarked, including six Americans.
Authorities in Argentina are also launching a rodent-trapping and testing program in Ushuaia, where the cruise originally departed, to determine how the outbreak began.
Ship Heading Toward Canary Islands
The MV Hondius is currently sailing north toward Spain’s Canary Islands, where it is expected to arrive Sunday. Spanish officials said evacuations could begin Monday if conditions remain stable.
The U.S. government is also preparing to send an aircraft to evacuate the 17 American passengers still onboard.
Meanwhile, health officials continue to monitor former passengers and crew members around the world, including a hospitalized flight attendant in the Netherlands who is now being tested for hantavirus.
Despite the global response, experts continue to emphasize that the outbreak remains limited and controlled, with no signs of widespread transmission.
