Efforts are underway across the globe to trace and monitor people who have left a cruise ship hit by a hantavirus outbreak, as well as the over 100 passengers that remain on board but are expected to depart the ship in the coming days.
Since April 11, there have been five confirmed cases of hantavirus, a rare and sometimes fatal infection, among people who had been on board the MV Hondius, including three who have died. There are also three suspected cases among other passengers.
Health officials are focused on people in several countries who have disembarked from the cruise ship or who have come into contact with its passengers. In the United States, officials are observing people in at least four states who had been on the ship. On Friday, the New Jersey Department of Health said it was monitoring two residents who were on a flight with an infected passenger of the MV Hondius. Neither of the individuals has shown symptoms associated with hantavirus, officials said.
While most strains of hantavirus only spread through contact with the urine, feces or saliva of infected rodents, the Andes strain involved in this outbreak can spread between humans who are in prolonged, close contact. It can take between one and six weeks for someone to develop symptoms after being exposed. (In rare cases, it can take as long as eight.)
More people may develop symptoms in the coming weeks, but experts cautioned that it does not necessarily mean they are infected with hantavirus.
In its early stages, hantavirus can present like the flu, causing a fever, chills, headaches, muscle pain and gastrointestinal issues. People who display those symptoms could have any number of other infections, noted Lina Moses, an epidemiologist and disease ecologist at Tulane University.
Anyone who has been on the ship and exhibits these symptoms will most likely be tested for the virus. The fact that people are being tested is not a cause for concern, Dr. Moses added.
“If we’re seeing more people getting screened, especially if they’re getting tested very early, that is a good indication that the system is working,” she said.
The Andes strain can cause a condition called hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, which can cause the lungs to fill with fluid and lead to chest tightness and difficulty breathing. Getting to a hospital quickly and receiving oxygen or other breathing support can improve the odds of surviving a hantavirus infection, which has a mortality rate of 35 percent in the United States.
Steven Bradfute, an associate professor at the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, said the coming weeks will be a “wait and see game.”
Whether we see more cases from the cruise ship depends on the extent of contact between those who fell ill and the people they may have encountered, Dr. Bradfute said.
“If there are additional cases, as long as they are being identified and isolated, it should be something that’s very controllable,” he said.
Joseph Goldstein contributed reporting.
Dani Blum is a health reporter for The Times.
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