Three U.S. states monitor residents from hantavirus cruise ship

Health authorities in at least three U.S. states are monitoring residents who traveled aboard the MV Hondius, a Dutch cruise ship at the center of a deadly hantavirus outbreak that has killed three passengers and sickened several others during an Atlantic voyage. None of the monitored individuals have shown symptoms, officials said Wednesday.

U.S. Monitoring Underway

The Georgia Department of Public Health confirmed it is observing two residents who are currently healthy, following guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. California's Department of Public Health said it was informed by the CDC about state residents aboard the ship and is coordinating with local officials. "There is no evidence that the California residents are ill or infected," spokesperson Robert Barsanti said. "At this moment, the public health risk in California remains low." Arizona's Department of Health Services said one resident who was a passenger is asymptomatic and being monitored.nytimes

Seventeen U.S. nationals were among the approximately 150 passengers and crew aboard the ship.hindustantimes+1

Evacuations and Confirmed Cases

Three patients were evacuated from the MV Hondius on Wednesday and flown to Amsterdam, according to the WHO. The Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs identified them as a 56-year-old British citizen, a 41-year-old Dutch national, and a 65-year-old German. One was transferred to a hospital in Düsseldorf, Germany, and another admitted to a facility in Leiden, Netherlands.dw+2

The WHO confirmed the Andes strain of hantavirus — the only known strain with evidence of human-to-human transmission — was identified through testing in South Africa and Switzerland. A Swiss man who disembarked during a stop at St. Helena in late April tested positive and was hospitalized in Zurich.cbc+2

Following the evacuations, the MV Hondius departed Cape Verde on Wednesday evening bound for Spain's Canary Islands, with an estimated arrival in Tenerife on Saturday. Passengers remain confined to their cabins as a precaution.pbs+1

A Rare Virus Raises Questions

The ship departed Ushuaia, Argentina, on April 1 for an expedition across Antarctica and remote South Atlantic islands. Illness onset among passengers occurred between April 6 and April 28. Three passengers have died — an elderly Dutch couple and a German woman — while a British passenger remains in intensive care in Johannesburg.npr+2

The WHO has said human-to-human transmission "can't be ruled out" given the close contact between cases on board, but emphasized that the virus does not spread like influenza or COVID-19. "The risk to the general public is low," said Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO's Director for Epidemic and Pandemic Preparedness and Prevention. The agency assessed that the outbreak does not pose a pandemic-level threat.wral+1