Are Cruise Ships a Hotspot for Virus Outbreaks?
WHO confirmed five hantavirus cases on a South Atlantic cruise, and health experts say crowded shipboard spaces can speed disease spread.
- The World Health Organization confirmed five cases of hantavirus linked to an outbreak on the Hondius cruise ship in the South Atlantic, including three deaths.
- Hantavirus, predominantly carried by rodents, causes Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome and Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome . Patients in this outbreak experienced rapid progression from fever and gastrointestinal issues to pneumonia and respiratory distress.
- Casualties included a Dutch couple and a German citizen. Dr. Deb Mills of the Travel Medicine Alliance calls the risk to ordinary travellers "microscopic," noting "The unexpected is what gets people, and this has now joined the 'expected.'"
- Australian Border Force and health officials are monitoring four Australian passengers who returned home. Because the virus may have an incubation period of several weeks, officials urge vigilance for travellers recently returning from South America or the cruise.
- "You should have a much lower bar for getting check-ups if you've been travelling," Dr. Mills said. Early intervention remains critical given the lack of specific vaccines or antiviral treatments for hantavirus.
15 Articles
15 Articles
Lithuanian Man Who Sailed on a Ship with Hantavirus More than Once: Even Shoes Are Disinfected There
Europe is closely following the drama of a cruise ship with a dangerous virus. After information emerged about hantavirus cases diagnosed on board and even deaths, traveler and photographer Giedrius Markevičius contacted LRT.lt. The man says that he himself has traveled on this ship to places such as Greenland or Antarctica many times, as it is an expedition cruise. The photographer was surprised by the outbreak of the virus on board, because, a…
The World Health Organization has reported an outbreak of severe respiratory diseases on board a cruise ship with 147 people. Clarifications of the disease and ...
Cruise ships are well prepared for virus outbreaks. That is according to former captain Bart Gonnissen following the hantavirus outbreak on a Dutch ship. The main reason: hundreds to thousands of people live in close proximity to each other for days on end. "Sometimes there is even a mortuary on board."
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