Hantavirus outbreak on cruise ship: Symptoms, treatment, infections in north America

Medics were working on Monday to evacuate two people with symptoms of the deadly hantavirus after a suspected outbreak on a luxury cruise ship held off West Africa carrying mostly British, American and Spanish passengers, officials said. Around 150 people were still stuck on the vessel after three people - a Dutch couple and a German national - died, and others fell ill, including a Briton who left the vessel and was being treated in South Africa, authorities added. The Netherlands' National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), which is assisting with the outbreak, said hantavirus had been confirmed in one of the patients showing symptoms.

A source briefed on the matter said that the Dutch woman who died had tested positive for the virus as well. RIVM ‌said it was still ⁠unclear if the ⁠other people with symptoms also had the virus, or if the other deaths were also caused by the virus.

Hantavirus Symptoms, Treatment





Hantavirus, which can cause fatal respiratory illness, can be spread when particles from rodent droppings or urine become airborne. It does ​not transfer easily between humans.

There are no specific drugs to treat the disease, so treatment focuses on supportive care, including putting patients on ventilators in severe cases.

The World Health Organization said the ​risk to the wider public was low and there was no need for panic or travel restrictions. But authorities in the island nation of Cape Verde said they had not allowed Dutch-flagged MV Hondius to dock as a precaution.

The WHO said in a statement that it had identified seven cases of hantavirus aboard the luxury cruise ship, including two laboratory confirmed cases ​and five suspected cases.

Hantavirus usually begins with flu-like symptoms, such as fatigue and fever, one to eight weeks after exposure. Hantavirus is primarily spread by rodents but can be transmitted between people in rare cases, according to the World Health ‌Organization.

People most ⁠typically ⁠become infected when virus in rodent droppings, saliva and urine becomes airborne, such as ​when areas where rats and mice have nested are swept out.

According to The Lancet ​medical journal, the name comes from the Hantan River area of South Korea, where the virus was identified in the 1970s.

Hantavirus is a family of viruses that cause two illnesses, one ⁠that primarily ‌affects the lungs and the other that attacks the kidneys. The first gets the most attention because it has ⁠a high fatality rate of about 40 per cent. Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, the respiratory illness, is most commonly found in North and South America.

Hantavirus usually begins with flu-like symptoms, such as fatigue ‌and fever, one to eight weeks after exposure, according to the CDC. Four to 10 days later, coughing, shortness of ​breath and fluid in ​the lungs appear. Diagnosis ⁠in the first 72 hours of infection is difficult, the CDC says, so symptoms can easily be mistaken for flu.

Experts say exposure to hantavirus can be minimized by deterring and eliminating rodents from areas where people are. Avoid vacuuming or sweeping dried droppings, which can aerosolize the virus.