"The crowded rooms, stuffy air, and communal dining of a giant boat filled with humans create the ideal conditions for pathogens to spread. Now hantavirus—a highly deadly rodent-borne pathogen—may have discovered this too."
"Among the roughly 150 passengers and crew on board, three have died and four have fallen ill—one critically. The vessel, the MV Hondius, is now anchored off the coast of Cabo Verde."
"Hantavirus can simmer in the body for weeks before sparking symptoms, and the seven people who have fallen sick so far might have all caught the virus through a common animal exposure before they got on the ship."
"A less likely, but still very real alternative: People could be catching the virus from one another, which could pose an additional threat to those at the ship's destination and beyond."
A cruise ship, the MV Hondius, is experiencing a hantavirus outbreak with three confirmed deaths and four others critically ill. Health officials are investigating the situation, with only two of seven cases confirmed by laboratory testing. The virus may have been contracted through common animal exposure before boarding or from hantavirus-infected rodents on the ship. There is also a possibility of limited person-to-person transmission, raising concerns for passengers, crew, and health-care workers.
Read at The Atlantic
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