Deadly Hantavirus Outbreak Leaves Cruise Ship Stranded in Atlantic, WHO suspects rare human-to-human spread
A cruise ship has been barred from port in the Atlantic Ocean after a rare outbreak of hantavirus on board, which killed three of the ship’s 150 passengers and left four others seriously ill.
Passengers first started to get sick on April 6th. The ship was refused permission to dock on Tuesday to allow time for two ill crew members to be evacuated for treatment.
“The plan is to medevac those two individuals. That’s in the works; that’s underway. The plan is for the ship to continue to the Canary Islands. We’re speaking to the Spanish authorities,” said Maria Van Kerkhove, an American epidemiologist and technical adviser to the World Health Organization (WHO), at a news briefing early on Tuesday.
The remaining passengers are taking strict precautionary measures, such as isolation and medical monitoring, according to the cruise operator, Oceanwide Expeditions.
Hantavirus, which is contracted when inhaling contaminated residue from rodent droppings, is not common on cruise ships and is not usually contagious between humans. However, in an update on Tuesday, WHO experts said they expect the outbreak to be the Andes variant, which is the only strain known to have been passed from person to person, though tests are ongoing in South Africa.
People face a high risk of contracting the virus when cleaning out enclosed spaces in their homes, cabins, or sheds, where mouse droppings may be found.
The virus starts with flu-like symptoms, which rapidly progress. Symptoms include a fever, chills and muscle aches, showing one to eight weeks after contact with an infected rodent. If the virus progresses further, the lungs fill with fluid, causing tightness in the chest.
Hantavirus can also cause hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome, a condition that can lead to bleeding, high fever and kidney failure.
The virus is uncommon globally. In 2025, eight countries within the Americas documented 229 cases and 59 deaths, according to the WHO.
While there is no specific treatment or cure for hantavirus, early medical care could increase the likelihood of survival. Research is still needed to find a possible cure for the rare but serious disease.
“In the Americas, hantavirus infection is very serious, but it’s also quite rare. And so for a time that probably led to less research into it because of funding priorities, but I know there’s been a lot of interest in funding hantavirus work of late,” said Steven Bradfute, associate professor and associate director of the Center for Global Health at the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, which specializes in hantavirus research.
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