What is the hantavirus that killed three people on a cruise ship?

A suspected hantavirus outbreak on a Netherlands-based cruise ship has left three people dead. The condition of a person infected with hantavirus can get worse within days without timely treatment.

In Short

• Hantavirus usually spreads when people inhale contaminated particles from rodent waste
• Sweeping dusty rooms or cabins can unknowingly send infectious particles airborne
• Early symptoms resemble flu, making infection harder to spot quickly

A suspected hantavirus outbreak on a Netherlands-based cruise ship travelling from Argentina to Cape Verde has left three people dead and three others hospitalised in Johannesburg.

The vessel was off the coast of Praia in Cape Verde, an island nation in the Atlantic Ocean, off West Africa, when the cases were reported.

According to South African health authorities, the infection is linked to rodents. What makes it particularly concerning, however, is how easily it can spread indoors without people even realising it.

According to the World Health Organisation, hantavirus is primarily carried by rodents such as rats and mice. Humans don’t get it from bites alone.

In fact, most infections happen in a much less obvious way, when tiny particles from rodent urine, droppings or saliva mix with air and are inhaled.

This can happen during everyday activities. Sweeping a dusty room, cleaning a storeroom, or even opening a long-shut cabin can release these invisible particles into the air.

Vacuuming or dry sweeping rodent droppings can make the risk worse by sending the virus airborne, turning a routine cleaning task into a potential exposure.

The virus itself isn’t new. It was first identified in the 1970s near the Hantan River in South Korea, which is where it gets its name. Since then, it has been found in different parts of the world, though cases remain relatively uncommon.

What makes hantavirus particularly concerning is how serious it can become.

It belongs to a group of viruses that cause two main types of illness, one that affects the lungs and another that targets the kidneys.

The lung-related form, known as Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome, is the more dangerous of the two and has a fatality rate of around 40%. While cases are reported globally, this form is more commonly seen in North and South America, with roughly 200 cases recorded each year worldwide.

SYMPTOMS OF HANTAVIRUS

The illness often begins like a common flu, which makes it easy to miss. People may develop fever, fatigue and body aches anywhere between one to eight weeks after exposure.

But within a few days, the condition can worsen. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, symptoms can progress to coughing, shortness of breath and fluid build-up in the lungs.

This stage can quickly become life-threatening, and early diagnosis is difficult in the first few days.

IS THERE A TREATMENT AVAILABLE?

There is no specific antiviral treatment for hantavirus. Care mainly focusses on supporting the body while it fights the infection.

This includes rest, fluids, and in severe cases, hospital care with oxygen therapy or ventilators to help with breathing.

Prevention, therefore, becomes crucial, and it starts at home. The importance of keeping living spaces free of rodents and being cautious while cleaning areas where they may have nested.

Instead of sweeping or vacuuming dry droppings, which can push virus particles into the air, safer cleaning methods are advised to reduce exposure.

- Ends