Health authorities on four continents are in a race to locate and monitor passengers who disembarked from a cruise ship affected by a hantavirus outbreak before the issue was identified. They are also working to trace individuals who may have had contact with the infected passengers.
The outbreak has claimed the lives of three passengers—a Dutch couple and a German national—while several others are currently unwell. Symptoms typically appear between one and eight weeks after exposure.
The cruise operator, Oceanwide Expeditions, confirmed on Thursday that none of the remaining passengers or crew onboard are showing any symptoms. In Argentina, investigators are yet to depart for the southern town believed to be the origin of the outbreak where a Dutch couple may have contracted the virus during a bird-watching excursion before boarding the cruise ship.
Approximately two dozen people from at least 12 different countries disembarked the vessel on April 24 without any contact tracing. The World Health Organization (WHO) has stated that the risk to the general public is low as hantavirus is not easily transmitted between people.
Efforts are ongoing to trace passengers who were on the ship in countries such as South Africa, Singapore, and the Netherlands. The Dutch couple traveled through Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay before boarding the ship, visiting areas where the rat species known to carry the virus is present.
Collaboration between the WHO and Argentinian health authorities is underway to track the couple’s journey and distribute diagnostic kits across five nations. Last year, Argentina reported 28 hantavirus-related deaths, an increase from the average of 15 deaths in the previous five years.
In the UK, the risk to the general population is deemed very low by the UK Health Security Agency. In France, a national has been isolated after displaying mild hantavirus symptoms, while two patients in the Netherlands are being treated in specialized isolation units.
Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO’s director-general, mentioned the potential for more cases due to the virus’s incubation period and praised the cooperation of the ship’s operator, passengers, and crew during this challenging situation.
