What to know
- A hantavirus outbreak on the cruise ship MV Hondius off the coast of Cape Verde has left at least three people dead, with eight confirmed cases and around 150 passengers still on board, including four Canadians.
- Three infected or suspected passengers have already been evacuated to the Netherlands as health authorities continue monitoring the situation, with the World Health Organization saying the overall public health risk remains low.
- Experts, including Toronto infectious disease specialist Dr. Isaac Bogoch, say hantavirus is very different from COVID-19 and is not typically spread between people, making a pandemic-like scenario unlikely.
Concerns are rising after a reported hantavirus outbreak aboard a cruise ship carrying several Canadian passengers — but an expert says the comparisons to the deadly COVID-19 pandemic are misplaced.
At least four Canadians are reportedly on board the MV Hondius vessel located off the coast of Cape Verde, headed to Spain’s Canary Islands, where health officials are monitoring a suspected cluster of hantavirus cases. So far, three people have died in the outbreak on the ship, and eight cases have been recorded in all. Around 150 people are still stuck on board.
As of Wednesday, three patients with hantavirus and one suspected of being infected were evacuated to the Netherlands, and Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says the network will continue to monitor the situation.
“At this stage, the overall public health risk remains low,” he wrote on X.
But his comments haven’t reassured everyone, with some fearing the situation could echo the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic that brought much of the world to a standstill in March 2020.
What is hantavirus?
Hantavirus is a rare but potentially serious illness typically spread through inhalation of infected rodent droppings, urine, or saliva. Reports from Argentina are investigating the origins of the outbreak, saying the government’s leading hypothesis is that a Dutch couple contracted the virus while bird-watching in the city of Ushuaia before boarding the ship.
Infectious Disease Specialist at Toronto General Hospital, Dr. Isaac Bogoch, says while hantavirus is rare, Canada in fact does see yearly cases – about three or four annually, typically in Western Canada.
Read More
He also shares that back in 2018, Argentina faced a previous outbreak of the virus, resulting in about 30 people becoming infected.
But unlike COVID-19, which spreads easily between people through respiratory droplets, he stresses that hantavirus is not commonly transmitted from person to person.
“It’s not realistic,” he said when asked whether this situation could escalate into something resembling the COVID-19 pandemic.
Still, concerns are rising, especially due to the ship’s enclosed environment, while dozens are stranded at sea.
“I think it’s fair to say that there’ll likely be more cases of this,” he said. “We’ll probably see more cases of this over the coming days and week or so, and then I think very likely they’ll be able to get it under control pretty quickly.”
Symptoms of hantavirus can begin with fever, fatigue, and muscle aches, and in severe cases progress to respiratory distress. Early medical attention is critical, as the illness can become life-threatening if untreated.
Canadian officials have not yet indicated whether evacuation or quarantine measures will be required for those on board.
