Officials and health experts in Argentina are urgently working to determine if the country is the source of a deadly hantavirus outbreak that has affected passengers on an Atlantic cruise ship, the MV Hondius. Reports indicate that several passengers have already returned to their home countries, raising concerns about further spread of the virus.
Argentina's High Hantavirus Incidence
Argentina, where the cruise to Antarctica departed, is consistently ranked by the World Health Organization (WHO) as having the highest incidence of hantavirus in Latin America. The Argentine health ministry reported on Tuesday that there have been 101 hantavirus infections since June 2025, roughly double the number from the previous year.
The specific strain involved is the Andes virus, a South American hantavirus that can cause hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, a severe and often fatal lung disease. According to Argentina's health ministry, nearly a third of cases in the last year have resulted in death.
Outbreak on the MV Hondius
Authorities confirmed that passengers on the MV Hondius tested positive for the Andes virus. Three passengers have died, one is in intensive care in a South African hospital, and three others were evacuated from the ship on Wednesday. Another man who left the ship earlier in the voyage tested positive in Switzerland.
Argentina announced on Wednesday that it is sending genetic material from the Andes virus and testing equipment to help Spain, Senegal, South Africa, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom detect the virus.
Transmission and Concerns
Hantavirus is typically transmitted through contact with infected rodents or their urine, droppings, or saliva. Human-to-human transmission is rare, but limited spread among close contacts has been observed in some previous outbreaks involving the Andes strain.
Concern has also arisen about 23 passengers who reportedly disembarked the MV Hondius on the island of Saint Helena on April 23, as reported by Spanish newspaper El Pais. A passenger who wished to remain anonymous told the paper that these individuals were wandering around without being contacted by health authorities for several days.
The cohort reportedly returned to their respective countries, including the United States. American passengers were being monitored in Georgia, California, and Arizona, according to the New York Times, though none had shown signs of illness.
Timeline of Deaths
The WHO reported that the first death on board the cruise ship was a 70-year-old Dutch man on April 11. His body was removed from the vessel nearly two weeks later at Saint Helena. His 69-year-old wife traveled by plane from Saint Helena to South Africa; she collapsed at a Johannesburg airport and died at a hospital on April 26. The third passenger, a German woman, died on May 2.
Investigation and Response
Argentine officials are working to trace the itineraries of infected passengers who traveled in the country before boarding the Dutch-flagged cruise liner in Ushuaia, a city in southern Argentina known as the end of the world. Once the itineraries are known, plans include contact tracing, isolation of close contacts, and active monitoring to prevent further spread.
Before boarding, the Dutch couple went sightseeing in Ushuaia and traveled in Argentina, Uruguay, and Chile, according to the Argentine government.
The virus can incubate for between one and eight weeks, making it difficult to determine whether passengers contracted the virus before leaving Argentina for Antarctica on April 1, during a scheduled stop at a remote South Atlantic island, or onboard the ship.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director general of the WHO, stated on X that the organization continues to work with the ship's operators to monitor the health of passengers and crew, and to support appropriate medical follow-up and evacuation where needed. He added that monitoring and follow-up for passengers onboard and those who have disembarked has been initiated, and that at this stage, the overall public health risk remains low.
Evacuation and Docking
The evacuation of three passengers from the ship, which has nearly 150 people onboard, allows it to continue its three-day journey to the Canary Islands after Spanish authorities granted permission for the vessel to dock. However, a dispute has emerged, with the president of the Canary Islands expressing concern over the ship docking in Tenerife.
The ship was anchored off Cape Verde while arrangements were made to evacuate the crew members, but on Wednesday evening, the ship was en route to the Canary Islands.
Those evacuated include a British man, Martin Anstee, 56, an expedition guide onboard the ship. He was removed along with a Dutch colleague, 41, who was the ship's doctor, and a 65-year-old German passenger, according to the Telegraph.
Climate Change and Hantavirus Spread
The health emergency aboard the MV Hondius comes as local public health researchers in Argentina point to climate change accelerating the risk of hantavirus spread. Public health experts say that higher temperatures expand the virus's range because, as it gets warmer and ecosystems change, rodents that carry the hantavirus can thrive in more places.
Hugo Pizzi, a prominent Argentine infectious disease specialist, stated, "Argentina has become more tropical because of climate change, and that has brought disruptions, like dengue and yellow fever, but also new tropical plants that produce seeds for mice to proliferate. There is no doubt that as time goes by, the hantavirus is spreading more and more."
With Associated Press and Reuters
