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Three victims on a cruise ship in the Atlantic / Here's what hantavirus is and how it spreads

2026-05-04 08:13:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Three victims on a cruise ship in the Atlantic / Here's what hantavirus is

Orthohantaviruses, more commonly known as hantaviruses, are a group of viruses found mainly in rodents, but which can infect humans. According to Prof. Adam Taylor of Lancaster University, there are at least 38 known strains of hantavirus globally, 24 of which cause disease in humans. Rodents such as mice, rats and sea rats are the natural reservoirs for the viruses.

Hantaviruses are spread to humans through inhalation or contact with the feces, urine, and saliva of infected rodents, or, less commonly, through bites and scratches from contaminated animals.

There are two main lineages of hantaviruses: Old World hantaviruses and New World hantaviruses. Old World hantaviruses are found in Europe and Asia, and include puumala hantavirus, Hantaan virus, and Seoul virus. In humans, they usually cause hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS), which affects the kidneys. Symptoms can include severe headaches, back and abdominal pain, and fever, as well as possible kidney damage.

New World hantaviruses are found in the Americas and usually cause hantavirus pulmonary syndrome. The most common type in South America is the Andean virus, which is spread primarily by the long-tailed dwarf rice rat.

The WHO said an investigation into the suspected hantavirus outbreak on the MV Hondius cruise ship was underway. There are several biologically plausible possibilities. The first is the possibility of contamination by rodents on the ship itself, if infected rodents had access to storage areas, cabins and other enclosed spaces. The second is that, due to the long incubation periods of hantaviruses, the outbreak may not necessarily have originated on the ship itself. The third, but less likely, is person-to-person transmission.  

The mortality rate from HFRS, caused by Old World hantaviruses, is estimated to be between 1% and 15%. Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome has a mortality rate of about 40% in the Americas. /CNA





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