Arizona Resident Assessed After MV Hondius Hantavirus Outbreak
MV Hondius carried eighty-six passengers and sixty-one crew from twenty-three countries on a South Atlantic voyage that began April 1 in Ushuaia, Argentina.
An Arizona resident who sailed aboard MV Hondius is undergoing assessment at the National Quarantine Unit at the University of Nebraska Medical Center after an Andes hantavirus outbreak on the Dutch cruise ship killed three people, Arizona health officials said May 12. A second Arizona resident from the ship is already home and is being monitored by the Maricopa County Department of Public Health.
The two Arizona residents are among U.S. travelers being followed up from the Oceanwide Expeditions-operated vessel, which carried 86 passengers and 61 crew from 23 countries on a South Atlantic voyage that began April 1 in Ushuaia, Argentina. The Andes strain is the only hantavirus known to spread person to person, though health officials say transmission is rare and generally linked to prolonged close contact with someone who is actively ill.
U.S. passengers move through Nebraska and Atlanta assessments
The Arizona Department of Health Services did not identify the Nebraska passenger’s Arizona community. That resident is expected to return home after assessment and once transportation arrangements are completed for public-health safety, then remain under local health department monitoring.
Eighteen people from the U.S. passenger group were flown from the Canary Islands to Nebraska after disembarking the ship in Tenerife. Sixteen went to the National Quarantine Unit in Omaha, while two others continued to Emory University in Atlanta, including one symptomatic passenger and that passenger’s partner. The symptomatic passenger later tested negative for hantavirus, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
An American initially described as having a mild PCR-positive result later tested negative at least twice and remained asymptomatic. No confirmed U.S. hantavirus cases had been identified.
The Omaha unit is the only federally funded quarantine unit in the United States. Dr. Ali Khan, dean of the College of Public Health at UNMC, said “it’s appropriate to be cautious” and monitor exposed passengers through the incubation period so anyone who becomes ill can be isolated quickly.
Andes strain drives longer monitoring
The World Health Organization’s May 8 update listed six confirmed and two suspected Andes hantavirus infections connected to MV Hondius, including three deaths. Subsequent evacuation updates added further positive cases: France’s Health Minister Stephanie Rist said a French evacuee tested positive, and Spain’s health ministry identified a Spanish passenger with low-grade fever and mild respiratory symptoms.
WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said there was “no sign we are seeing the start of a larger outbreak,” while cautioning that the “situation could change” if more cases are detected during monitoring.
“It is not spread through casual interactions in public settings,” the Arizona Department of Health Services said. “For the current Andes virus situation — there is very low risk to the public.”
The state’s usual hantavirus risk is different. Arizona’s most common strain is Sin Nombre, carried by deer mice, and it is not known to spread between people.
Remote itinerary complicates contact tracing
MV Hondius departed Ushuaia and crossed the South Atlantic, with calls that included Antarctica, South Georgia Island, Tristan da Cunha, Saint Helena and Ascension Island, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Some travelers left the voyage before the outbreak was recognized, while others were repatriated after the ship reached Tenerife. Health authorities in several countries have been tracing passengers, crew and close contacts because symptoms can appear days or weeks after exposure.
Hantavirus infections can begin with fever, fatigue, muscle aches, headache, nausea, vomiting or diarrhea. Severe cases may progress to coughing, shortness of breath or respiratory distress requiring hospitalization.
State and local health departments are using daily checks through a period of up to 42 days, the outer incubation window cited for the outbreak.
