Hantavirus cruise: Dozens of passengers left ship after first death; cases suspected in 5 countries

Health officials in five countries are trying to trace contacts and the potential spread of the hantavirus.

Three people have died after a hantavirus outbreak on the cruise ship MV Hondius and several others are sick.

It is believed that the Andes strain of hantavirus is responsible, CNN reported. That variation can be spread from human to human.

More than two dozen people left the ship on April 24, about two weeks after the first person died on board the ship, officials said, according to The Associated Press. The man died on April 11 and his body was removed from the ship at St. Helena on April 24. The man’s wife also disembarked and flew to South Africa the next day and died there.

There are discrepancies in how many people left the ship. The company that owns the MV Hondius said 29 passengers disembarked at St. Helena, but the Dutch Foreign Ministry said it was about 40, the AP reported.

Two people in Georgia are under observation, but have not shown symptoms, WSB reported. They were onboard the ship and have returned home. Officials have not said where in Georgia they live.

Other passengers from the U.S. are in Arizona, Texas and Virginia, CNN reported.

The California Department of Public Health said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that two residents had been on the ship, The New York Times reported.

Health officials in Singapore said they’re monitoring two men who left the ship in St. Helena, flew to South Africa before returning home. They are both being tested and isolated, according to the AP.

The Dutch health ministry said a woman who was not on the ship is being tested and kept in isolation at an Amsterdam hospital after showing symptoms, the AP reported. She was part of a flight crew who had contact with an infected passenger on a plane.

Officials are either monitoring people or trying to trace the contacts of those who may have been in contact with passengers from the ship, according to the AP.

The World Health Organization said in a statement posted to X that it "will continue to work with countries to ensure that the patients, contacts, passengers and crew have the information and support they need to stay safe and prevent spread."

While the strain can be passed person-to-person, the WHO said the risk to the public is low, the AP reported. Symptoms typically appear between 1 and 8 weeks after exposure.

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