Global health authorities are working to trace the source of a deadly hantavirus outbreak linked to the MV Hondius cruise ship, after eight reported cases and three deaths raised concern across multiple countries. According to CTV News, the World Health Organization has confirmed five of the eight cases as hantavirus while continuing to investigate how the virus spread among passengers.
The outbreak has prompted international contact tracing after more than two dozen passengers from 12 countries left the ship on April 24 before the full extent of the situation was known. Health officials have stressed that the risk to the wider public remains low, noting that hantavirus is not easily transmitted between people and is not being compared to COVID 19 by medical experts.
Canadian officials are also monitoring the situation closely. Three Canadians who may have been exposed have returned to Canada, including two in Ontario and one in Quebec. Officials said they are asymptomatic and have been asked to self isolate while public health teams monitor them during the incubation period.
Investigators are focusing on Argentina as a possible source of the outbreak. The first two identified cases involved a Dutch couple who had travelled through Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay before boarding the vessel. According to CTV News, health officials are examining whether exposure may have occurred in areas where rodents known to carry the Andes virus were present.
Argentina’s Health Ministry is reportedly focusing part of its investigation on Ushuaia, where scientists are expected to analyze rodents near a local waste site to determine whether they carry the virus. The WHO is also working with Argentine authorities and has arranged for 2,500 diagnostic kits to be sent to laboratories in five countries.
Medical experts say more cases may still be confirmed because hantavirus can have a long incubation period. Infectious disease specialists have also noted that cruise ships create challenges for outbreak response because passengers live closely together, share dining and common areas, and may later travel to different countries before symptoms appear.
Despite the seriousness of the outbreak, experts continue to emphasize that the overall public health risk remains very low. Officials say the priority now is to identify possible contacts, ensure exposed passengers receive medical support if symptoms develop, and determine whether the virus was brought onto the ship or linked to conditions during the voyage.
