A deadly outbreak of hantavirus aboard the expedition cruise ship MV Hondius is reviving painful memories for passengers who survived some of the first Covid-19 quarantines at sea in 2020, particularly those who survived the infamous Diamond Princess outbreak.
Passengers began evacuating a cruise ship linked to a deadly hantavirus outbreak on Sunday (May 10) after the vessel docked near the Spanish island of Tenerife, marking the start of efforts to return passengers to their home countries.
The ship was sailing from Cape Verde to the Canary Islands.
Three passengers aboard the Hondius died during the outbreak, including two with confirmed cases of the Andean strain of hantavirus and one probable case.
According to NBC News, former cruise passengers who survived being locked aboard Covid-era ships say the situation is eerily familiar.
Diamond Princess passengers are once again experiencing fear and isolation
People also ask
Artificial intelligence reinforced the insights from this story
•5 QUESTIONS
Hantavirus is typically contracted through contact with rodents, particularly their urine, feces, or saliva. On the MV Hondius, the outbreak is believed to have originated from possible exposure to rodents during bird sightings conducted earlier in the voyage.
Passengers who were on the Diamond Princess cruise ship during the early 2020 Covid-19 pandemic are experiencing similar feelings of fear and isolation. Both situations involved restrictions on ships under strict quarantine measures due to outbreaks.
The Andean strain of hantavirus is of particular concern because it is the only known strain capable of spreading between humans. However, this person-to-person transmission generally requires very close contact.
Passengers and crew are being evacuated and repatriated to their home countries, with some expected to undergo quarantine. For example, US travelers are expected to be quarantined at the National Quarantine Facility in Omaha, Nebraska.
The WHO Director-General has urged calm, saying the public health risk posed by this hantavirus outbreak remains low for the general population in Tenerife. Measures are in place to ensure that disembarking passengers do not come into contact with the public.
Bill Smedley, a former Diamond Princess passenger, said news of the Hondius outbreak immediately brought back traumatic memories of being trapped aboard the ship in quarantine during the early days of the coronavirus pandemic.
“It brought back terrible memories that we had because we had no idea of the significance of what was happening to us,” Smedley, 72, said.
Smedley and his wife Colette reportedly boarded the Diamond Princess in January 2020 for a 28-day birthday bash around Asia. The trip included stops in Japan, Vietnam, Hong Kong and Taiwan before everything changed after a passenger tested positive for Covid-19.
“That Monday morning they wouldn’t let us off the ship when we were supposed to leave,” Smedley recalled. “And that Tuesday they said, ‘Stay in your room and don’t go out.’
The Diamond Princess later became one of the first major outbreaks of Covid-19 outside mainland China, infecting more than 700 passengers and crew.
Strict quarantine and panic on board
As the infection spread aboard the Diamond Princess, passengers were confined to cramped cabins under strict lockdown measures.
“Everybody was scared,” Smedley told the reporter. “The look on their faces. Nobody was talking to each other, we were wearing gloves and masks and stuff.”
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 trays of food were left outside the cabin door three times a day to minimize contact between staff and passengers.
“The general rule was they would drop the tray at your door, but you weren’t allowed to open the door until they left to minimize contact,” he said.
Rachel Torres added that staff were monitoring the hallways to ensure passengers remained isolated in 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 released home.
Passenger Hondius faces a similar uncertainty
Passengers aboard the Hondius now face similar restrictions and uncertainty as health officials work to contain the hantavirus outbreak.
NBC News reported that American passengers returning from the ship are expected to be quarantined at the National Quarantine Unit at the Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha. The Spanish Ministry of Health also issued quarantine protocols for passengers and crew who were on board the vessel between April 1 and May 10.
WHO is following the outbreak of MV Hondius Hantavirus to possible exposure to rodents
Health authorities are investigating a deadly hantavirus outbreak on board the expedition cruise ship MV Hondiust, which triggered international quarantine measures.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the outbreak may have originated from exposure to rodents during bird sightings conducted earlier in the cruise.
Possible rodent exposure associated with first infection
The WHO said humans usually contract hantavirus through contact with rodents, particularly through exposure to their urine, droppings or saliva.
“The origin of the first case suggests possible exposure to rodents during bird watching,” the WHO said.
The cruise ship departed Ushuaia, Argentina on April 1 before heading to Cape Verde and the Canary Islands.
Health officials said the Andes strain identified in the outbreak is of particular concern because it is the only known hantavirus that can spread between people, although such transmission generally requires very close contact.
A cluster of respiratory illnesses has been reported
The WHO said that on May 2 – about a month after the ship left Argentina – authorities were notified of a “cluster of passengers with severe respiratory illness” on board the ship.
At the time, 147 passengers and crew were still on board, while another 34 people disembarked earlier in the voyage, according to the WHO.
Investigations into the outbreak intensified after several deaths linked to the disease.
Three deaths linked to the epidemic
The first victim was a Dutch passenger who died on board 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 virus or infection 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 on board May 2, medical officials said.
Two days later, hantavirus infection was confirmed in another passenger who was medically evacuated to a South African hospital, Oceanwide Expeditions said.
Read also | Caribbean Princess norovirus outbreak leaves 100 sick: What to know
