On May 2, South African officials received a positive result for hantavirus from a passenger aboard the MV Hondius, a Dutch ship heading to the port of Tenerife, a Spanish island. During the voyage, a 70-year-old Dutch man became ill with fever and died; his wife later died at a South African airport on April 26. The same day the South African officials received the positive result, another passenger passed away as well.
Hantavirus is part of a family of viruses, spread mainly by rodents through their saliva, droppings and urine. The specific type of virus on the MV Hondius is the Andes virus, the only known type to spread from person-to-person through close contact. Different strains such as HFRS (hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome) and HPS (hantavirus pulmonary syndrome) affect the kidneys and lungs, with a 15% and 38% fatality rate respectively.
As of May 8, the World Health Organization has determined eight confirmed hantavirus cases, including the three deaths. Despite the deaths, Maria Van Kerkhove, the director of epidemic and pandemic management at WHO, alleviated tensions at a press conference on Thursday, noting the differences between the hantavirus and COVID.
“This is not coronavirus,” Kerhove said. “This is a very different virus. We know this virus. Hantaviruses have been around for quite a while. I want to be unequivocal here. This is not the start of a COVID pandemic. This is an outbreak we see on a ship. This is not the same situation we were in six years ago.”
Despite Kerkhove’s words, students at Oak Park High School are still worried about hantavirus’ fatality rates and the fact that from the 147 passengers and staff of the luxury cruise ship, four of the infected passengers were determined to be Californian residents.
“I wasn’t concerned until they informed us that they let the people off the cruise,” junior Anjali Staschik said. “Then, I was concerned because once you let the people off the cruise, they’re going to fly all over the world to wherever they live, and if they have more business trips or vacations coming up, and if they’re infected, they’re going to spread it to the people around them.”
The cruise ship docked at Tenerife on the morning of Sunday, May 10. The passengers are in the process of returning home and being quarantined to prevent the spread of the hantavirus. On May 15, the CDC issued an update on the current state of affairs revolving around the hantavirus and assured citizens that the hantavirus will not affect them.
“As the US’s health protection agency, the CDC works 24/7 to protect Americans from health, safety and security threats wherever they originate at home or abroad,” PhD and MD senior official, Jay Bhattacharya said. “There are no current hantavirus cases in the United States and I’ll emphasize that the risk to the general public remains extremely low.”
