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The deadly hantavirus outbreak aboard the expedition cruise ship MV Hondius is reviving painful memories for passengers who endured some of the earliest Covid-19 quarantines at sea in 2020, particularly survivors of the infamous Diamond Princess outbreak.
Three passengers aboard the Hondius have died during the outbreak, including two with confirmed cases of the Andes strain of hantavirus and one probable case. The vessel had been sailing from Cape Verde to the Canary Islands when passengers began evacuating near Tenerife on Sunday (May 10).
According to NBC News, former cruise passengers who lived through Covid-era lockdowns aboard ships say the unfolding situation feels hauntingly familiar.
Diamond Princess passengers relive fear and isolation
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Hantavirus is typically spread through contact with infected rodents, particularly their urine, droppings, or saliva. On cruise ships, the origin of the first case suggests possible exposure to rodents during activities like bird watching. The Andes strain, identified in the MV Hondius outbreak, can also spread between humans through very close contact.
Passengers on the MV Hondius are experiencing similar fears to those on the Diamond Princess because the unfolding hantavirus outbreak revives traumatic memories of early Covid-19 quarantines at sea. Both situations involved being trapped on a ship under strict lockdown measures with uncertainty about the unfolding health crisis.
Authorities are managing the outbreak by implementing international quarantine measures and coordinating passenger evacuations to their home nations. Passengers are being screened, and those on board are expected to undergo quarantine protocols, with some being transferred to medical centers for monitoring.
The WHO chief emphasized that the MV Hondius hantavirus outbreak is not another COVID-19 pandemic. While hantavirus, particularly the Andes strain, can spread between humans, the current public health risk from it is considered low compared to COVID-19.
The World Health Organization (WHO) suggests the hantavirus outbreak on the MV Hondius may have originated from exposure to rodents. The first case's origin points to possible rodent exposure during bird-watching activities conducted earlier in the voyage, before the cluster of respiratory illnesses was reported.
Bill Smedley, a former passenger on the Diamond Princess, said news of the Hondius outbreak immediately brought back traumatic memories of being trapped aboard a quarantined ship during the early days of the coronavirus pandemic.
“It sort of brought back terrible memories that we had because we had no idea the significance of what was happening to us,” Smedley, 72, was quoted as saying by the news outlet.
Smedley and his wife, Colette, reportedly boarded the Diamond Princess in January 2020 for a 28-day birthday celebration cruise across Asia. The trip included stops in Japan, Vietnam, Hong Kong and Taiwan before everything changed after a passenger tested positive for Covid-19.
“They didn’t let us off the ship that Monday morning like we were supposed to depart,” Smedley recalled . “And that Tuesday, they said, ‘Stay in your room and don’t come out.’”
The Diamond Princess later became one of the earliest large Covid-19 outbreaks outside mainland China, infecting more than 700 passengers and crew members.
Strict quarantine and panic onboard
As infections spread on the Diamond Princess, passengers were confined to cramped cabins under strict lockdown measures.
“Everybody was terrified,” Smedley told the news outlet. “The look on their faces. Nobody would talk to each other; we were in gloves and masks and everything like that.”
Rachel and Tyler Torres, newlyweds from Louisiana, were also aboard the Diamond Princess during the outbreak. Their honeymoon quickly turned into a quarantine nightmare.
Tyler Torres said that food trays were left outside cabin doors three times a day to minimize contact between staff and passengers.
“The general rule was that they would drop the tray at your door, but you weren’t allowed to open your door until they had walked away to minimize contact,” he was quoted as saying.
Rachel Torres added that staff members monitored hallways to ensure passengers stayed isolated inside their rooms.
The couple eventually returned to the United States in February 2020 but spent another two weeks in quarantine at a Texas Air Force base before being allowed home.
Hondius passengers face similar uncertainty
Passengers aboard the Hondius are now facing similar restrictions and uncertainty as health officials work to contain the hantavirus outbreak.
NBC News reported that US passengers returning from the ship are expected to quarantine at the National Quarantine Unit at the Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha. Spain’s Health Ministry has also issued quarantine protocols for passengers and crew who were aboard the vessel between April 1 and May 10.
WHO traces MV Hondius Hantavirus outbreak to possible rodent exposure
Health authorities are investigating a deadly hantavirus outbreak aboard the expedition cruise ship MV Hondius that has left three passengers dead and triggered international quarantine measures.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the outbreak may have originated from exposure to rodents during bird-watching activities conducted earlier in the voyage.
Possible rodent exposure linked to first infection
The WHO said people typically contract hantavirus through contact with rodents, particularly exposure to their urine, droppings or saliva.
“The origin of the first case suggests possible exposure to rodents during bird watching activities,” the WHO said.
The cruise ship had departed from Ushuaia, Argentina, on April 1 before traveling toward Cape Verde and the Canary Islands.
Health officials said the Andes strain identified in the outbreak is especially concerning because it is the only known hantavirus capable of spreading between humans, although such transmission generally requires very close contact.
Cluster of respiratory illnesses reported
The WHO said that on May 2 — roughly one month after the ship departed Argentina — authorities were informed of “a cluster of passengers with severe respiratory illness” aboard the vessel.
At the time, there were 147 passengers and crew members still onboard, while another 34 individuals had already disembarked earlier during the voyage, according to the WHO.
The outbreak investigation intensified following multiple deaths linked to the illness.
Three deaths linked to outbreak
The first fatality was a Dutch passenger who died onboard on April 11. Oceanwide Expeditions, the operator of the MV Hondius, said at the time that “the cause of death was unknown and there was no evidence of a virus or contagion on board.”
His wife later died at a medical clinic in South Africa on April 26, according to the WHO.
A third passenger, a German woman, died onboard on May 2, health officials said.
Two days later, hantavirus infection was confirmed in another passenger who had been medically evacuated to a South African hospital, Oceanwide Expeditions said.
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