More than 140 passengers on a cruise ship where multiple people became infected with hantavirus are expected to arrive this weekend in Spain’s Canary Islands.
Spanish officials said the passengers will be evacuated from the ship and placed in isolation. Officials told The Associated Press that the United States will send a plane for 17 American passengers to bring them home. Other countries are planning similar missions.
Three passengers have died and several others have become ill since the ship left Argentina on April 1.
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Officials revealed Thursday that at least 30 passengers disembarked after one passenger died from the virus. At the time, officials believed the death was related to a more common respiratory illness.
The announcement has sparked a worldwide contact-tracing effort to locate those passengers and others they may have exposed.
The World Health Organization said Thursday the risk to the general public is “very low.” While the Andes strain of hantavirus can spread between humans, the WHO said it typically requires prolonged exposure rather than casual contact.
“This is not COVID. This is not influenza. It spreads very, very differently,” said Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, director of Epidemic and Pandemic Preparedness and Prevention for the WHO. “We are supporting the ship’s operators and the mitigation measures they are putting on board.”
As of Thursday, no one currently on the ship was showing hantavirus symptoms. WHO officials said two people are hospitalized with the virus in the Netherlands, one in intensive care in South Africa. Doctors have been sent to the ship to examine passengers.
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What is known about hantavirus
Scripps News medical contributor Dr. Omer Awan said about 20 to 40 cases occur annually in the United States and that, except for a rare strain, human-to-human spread is unusual.
“Usually, people get this virus when they have direct contact with the saliva, urine or feces of rodents,” Awan said.
Illness can range from mild to severe. Symptoms often begin with fever, chills, muscle aches, cramps, and sometimes abdominal pain, nausea or vomiting. After a week, some patients develop lung symptoms, including coughing, shortness of breath and breathing difficulties. In rare cases, fluid can build up in the lungs, which can be fatal.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says about 38% of U.S. cases are fatal. The incubation period is longer than for many respiratory viruses, with symptoms developing one to eight weeks after exposure.
