90-Second Read: Hantavirus on small cruise ship may have been spread by human contact

The deaths of three people aboard a small cruise ship during a suspected outbreak of Hantavirus demonstrate the potential deadliness of the rodent-borne illness. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: The deaths of three people aboard a small cruise ship during a suspected outbreak of Hantavirus demonstrate the potential deadliness of the rodent-borne illness. The Hantavirus cluster on the MV Hondius cruise ship is suspected to also be a rare case of human-to-human transmission. Once somebody gets sick, once somebody comes in contact with Hantavirus, they can develop severe illness fairly quickly," said Neil Maniar, director of Northeastern's master of public health program. Caused by contact with urine, feces or saliva from certain species of rats or mice, Hantavirus occurs across the globe, says the.

The cruise originated in Argentina, where a Hantavirus strain called Andes virus is known to spread from person to person, WHO said. It's possible a passenger became infected on a shore excursion and spread the virus in the closed environment of the cruise ship, Maniar said. Of the seven total cases recorded thus far, two have been confirmed to be Hantavirus and the others are classified as suspected cases, according to WHO. The virus triggers [leaking of blood vessels] that floods the lungs with fluid, causing rapid respiratory failure." The passengers who fell ill reported a variety of symptoms, including fever, gastrointestinal problems, signs of pneumonia and trouble breathing, according to WHO. Unlike the Andes virus, the Sin Nombre strain does not spread person to person, Merson said.

His wife, who developed GI symptoms shortly afterward, succumbed on April 26 in a hospital in South Africa after trying to fly home, the health agency said. There is no vaccine or specific treatment for Hantavirus. But with a fatality rate of 40% in the U.S., people who work in extreme medicine in wilderness environments are on the lookout for Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome or HPS, a complication of Hantavirus, Merson said. Hantavirus hit the headlines last year, when actor Gene Hackman and his wife, 65-year-old Betsy Arakawa, were found dead on their property in New Mexico. But mortality runs higher in the Americas than in Europe and Asia, with a fatality rate of up to 50% compared with a rate of up to 15%.

The New Mexico Department of Health said Arakawa may have come into contact with rodent droppings or nests on her property's outbuildings. In the meantime, WHO said it continues to investigate the cause of the Hondius cruise ship cluster as it now works with Spain to allow the ship to dock in the Canary Islands. Early symptoms are similar to the flu, said Joshua Merson, program director of extreme medicine at Northeastern University. What makes it dangerous is what comes after the initial symptoms. The first sign of trouble came when a Dutch citizen developed symptoms of fever, headache and mild diarrhea on April 6, five days after the ship left the port of Ushuaia, according to a report issued by WHO.