Hantavirus cruise outbreak: 5 critical facts you need to know

In the span of a few weeks, an expedition cruise from Argentina toward Cape Verde turned from an exclusive wildlife voyage into an international public health emergency after the MV Hondius became linked to an outbreak of hantavirus. 

The MV Hondius, operated by Oceanwide Expeditions, was sailing through the frigid waters of the South Atlantic on what the company called its “Atlantic Odyssey” voyage. The expedition began in Ushuaia, Argentina, and was designed to carry passengers across remote islands, including South Georgia, Tristan da Cunha and eventually toward Cape Verde, bridging the gap between the Antarctic and Arctic cruise seasons.

The voyage attracted wildlife enthusiasts, birdwatchers and adventure travelers, as passengers were offered opportunities to see penguins, fur seals, albatrosses, dolphins and humpback whales during a six-week expedition at sea.

Behind the imagery of polar exploration and expedition travel, a serious public health crisis was unfolding. Cruise ships are often associated with outbreaks of illnesses such as norovirus because of crowded and enclosed conditions. Health experts, however, called the Hondius outbreak highly unusual because hantavirus outbreaks on cruise ships are virtually unheard of.

The outbreak challenges assumptions about disease transmission, exposes vulnerabilities in expedition travel and draws attention to biological risks that remain poorly understood. Here are five things to know about the outbreak.