The World Health Organization has tried to calm public fears after a deadly hantavirus outbreak linked to a cruise ship traveling across the Atlantic Ocean.
Health officials said the virus is serious for infected people, but the danger to the general public remains very low because the virus does not spread easily from person to person.
The outbreak happened on the MV Hondius, an expedition cruise ship that has been traveling from South America toward the Spanish island of Tenerife.
The ship began its journey from Ushuaia, a city at the southern tip of Argentina, on April 1. During the trip, the ship stopped at several isolated islands across the Atlantic Ocean, including Saint Helena, a remote British island.
The situation attracted worldwide attention after several passengers became seriously ill. According to the World Health Organization, there were five confirmed cases and three suspected cases linked to the outbreak. Three passengers later died.
The deaths raised concerns because hantavirus is known to be a dangerous disease. However, WHO officials stressed that this virus behaves very differently from highly contagious illnesses such as COVID-19 or measles.
WHO spokesman Christian Lindmeier explained during a press briefing in Geneva that hantavirus requires extremely close contact between people for transmission to happen. He said the virus does not spread easily through normal everyday contact.
“This is not a new COVID,” Lindmeier said. He explained that simply being near someone who coughs is usually not enough to catch the virus. According to WHO, the virus appears to spread only through very close physical contact, such as contact involving saliva.
Hantaviruses are a group of viruses usually carried by rodents. People most often become infected through contact with rodent urine, droppings, or saliva. In some rare cases, certain strains of hantavirus can spread between humans through very close contact.
Symptoms can begin like the flu, with fever, tiredness, headaches, muscle pain, and breathing problems. In severe cases, the disease can become life-threatening because it affects the lungs and breathing system.
Because the virus is rare and can be dangerous, health authorities in several countries have been carefully monitoring passengers and crew from the MV Hondius. People who may have been exposed are being treated or isolating in countries including Britain, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and South Africa.
One case that received major attention involved a Dutch woman who had traveled on the cruise ship. She was the wife of the first passenger who died during the outbreak.
Reports said she briefly boarded a KLM flight traveling from Johannesburg to the Netherlands on April 25 but was removed from the aircraft before takeoff after concerns about her health.
She later died in a hospital in Johannesburg on April 26 and tested positive for hantavirus.
However, WHO officials pointed to another important detail that may help reduce public fears. A Dutch flight attendant who reportedly had close contact with the sick passenger later tested negative for the virus.
Lindmeier called this “very good news” because it suggests the virus may not spread easily even after close exposure.
Another example involved a Swiss man who became infected and was hospitalized in Zurich. His wife had traveled with him during the cruise but reportedly showed no symptoms and remained healthy while self-isolating.
WHO officials said these cases support the idea that the virus does not move easily between people. This is especially important for communities worried about possible spread after the cruise ship visited several islands during its voyage.
One location receiving attention was Saint Helena, where around 30 passengers left the ship on April 24, including the body of the first person who died during the outbreak. Some residents feared the virus could spread among the local population.
But WHO officials again reassured the public that the overall risk remains extremely low.
Experts say the outbreak is still being investigated to understand exactly how the infections happened. Health authorities are continuing contact tracing efforts and monitoring anyone who may have been exposed.
The situation also highlights how quickly health concerns on international cruise ships can attract global attention. Cruise ships involve large numbers of people traveling closely together across multiple countries, which can make disease outbreaks difficult to manage.
At the same time, scientists stress that hantavirus outbreaks remain very different from highly contagious respiratory pandemics. While the illness can be severe, it usually does not spread rapidly through casual contact.
The WHO’s statements are important because they help separate public fear from scientific evidence. During outbreaks of dangerous diseases, fear and misinformation can spread faster than the illness itself. Public health officials say clear communication is essential to avoid panic.
The findings and observations described by the World Health Organization are based on ongoing investigations and international monitoring of the outbreak cases linked to the MV Hondius.
In reviewing the situation, the evidence so far suggests that this hantavirus strain spreads far less easily than many people initially feared. The examples of close contacts who remained healthy provide reassuring signs, although scientists still need to continue monitoring the outbreak carefully.
The outbreak also shows how important rapid international cooperation is during health emergencies, especially when cruise ships travel across several countries and isolated communities.
While the virus is dangerous for infected individuals, the WHO’s analysis supports the conclusion that the overall public health risk remains very limited at this stage.
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Source: World Health Organization.
