What Is Hantavirus and How Is It Spread? | BBC News

Why It Matters

The outbreak highlights the potential for rare zoonotic viruses to disrupt global travel and stresses the need for vigilant monitoring despite low worldwide risk.

Key Takeaways

• Hantavirus spreads via aerosolized rodent urine and droppings.
• Cruise ship outbreak source remains unknown; travelers may have introduced virus.
• Two severe diseases: HPS (38% mortality) and HFRS (50% mortality).
• No vaccine; treatment limited to supportive care and organ support.
• WHO deems global risk low, but monitoring continues.

Summary

BBC News reports a hantavirus outbreak aboard the MV Hondaius cruise ship, highlighting the virus’s rarity but severe health consequences.

The disease spreads primarily through inhalation of aerosolized rodent urine, droppings, and, in rare cases, human‑to‑human transmission of the Andes strain. It can cause hantavirus pulmonary syndrome with a 38% fatality rate or hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome, which kills about half of those infected. Diagnosis relies on PCR testing, while no vaccine or specific antiviral exists.

The first two deaths involved a Dutch couple who had traveled across South America, raising questions about where they contracted the virus. A 2018 Argentine outbreak linked to a single party illustrates how quickly the virus can spread, producing 34 cases and 11 deaths.

Health authorities, including the WHO, consider the global threat low but stress continued surveillance. The incident underscores the vulnerability of cruise ships to zoonotic pathogens and may prompt stricter rodent control and health protocols in the travel sector.

Original Description

Three people have died after a suspected hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship sailing in the Atlantic Ocean, according to the World Health Organization.

The outbreak was reported aboard the cruise ship which was travelling from Argentina to Cape Verde.

Hantavirus refers to a strain of viruses carried by rodents, primarily transmitted to humans through inhalation of airborne particles from dried rodent droppings.

Infections typically occur when the virus becomes airborne from a rodent's urine, droppings, or saliva, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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0:00 What is hantavirus?

0:50 Where could it come from?

01:44 How does it spread?

02:09 What are the symptoms?

03:08 Who is it most dangerous for?

03:24 How do you test for it?

03:56 What’s the treatment?

04:27 Will we have a lockdown?