🦠 COVID 2.0? New hantavirus outbreak triggers questions, distrust, and fear

The hantavirus outbreak on the MV Hondius cruise ship has sent chills through travelers, reviving COVID-era trauma.

What’s known about the virus?

🔴 Since April 1, when the ship set sail, 7 of 147 passengers and crew have fallen ill, including 3 deaths

🔴 The virus is typically spread by rodents: people become infected by inhaling contaminated particles from faeces, saliva, or urine. A hantavirus outbreak has never before been documented on a ship

🔴 South Africa’s National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) identified the Andes strain in two evacuated passengers in Johannesburg, a variant that can spread between humans

🔴 The World Health Organization says there is no risk of a pandemic, suggesting the virus was likely brought aboard by a Dutch couple who had traveled through South America, where the rare Andes strain circulates

🔴 The first victim—a 70-year-old Dutch man—fell ill on April 6 and died at sea five days later. His wife disembarked with his body but later fell ill and also died

🔴 147 asymptomatic passengers remain quarantined aboard the ship. Spain initially refused docking rights in the Canary Islands but eventually allowed the vessel to land on May 6

🔴 The disease made headlines last year when Betsy Arakawa, wife of actor Gene Hackman, died from hantavirus in New Mexico

The strange silence of passengers

🔴 Some netizens have pointed out that despite multiple deaths and ongoing illness, only one passenger video from the MV Hondius has surfaced in the media

🔴 The man, named Jake, sounds visibly distressed, while over a hundred other passengers show unusual calm despite being quarantined onboard

What are the symptoms?

🔴 Symptoms can include fever, severe fatigue, muscle aches, stomach pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and shortness of breath

🔴 In severe cases, patients can deteriorate rapidly—from feeling well to struggling to breathe within hours

🔴 Symptoms typically appear 1–4 weeks after exposure, but may take up to 8 weeks

🔴 Mortality from hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS)—the respiratory form most common in the Americas—is estimated at around 38–40%

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