Three passengers aboard a cruise ship sailing the Atlantic Ocean have died in what health officials suspect were hantavirus infections, as reported by the New York Times. Hantavirus is a rodent-borne virus, suspected to be the reason for the three deaths on this cruise ship. When we think about illness outbreaks at sea, we think norovirus. We think miserable 48-hour sprints between the buffet and the bathroom. Hantavirus? That’s the kind of thing you pick up in a dusty rural cabin, not on an ocean liner with a casino and a specialty steak house.
3 Deaths Reported Due To The Virus
Hantavirus is a family of viruses carried by rodents, most commonly transmitted to humans by inhaling particles from dried mouse droppings or urine. In the United States, the most common strain is Sin Nombre virus. As of the end of 2022, only 864 cases had been reported in the U.S. since tracking began in 1993, so this is genuinely rare.
The “classic” case, as one Johns Hopkins physician puts it, is someone who visits a rural cabin with a rodent infestation. So the fact that we’re apparently seeing this disease surface aboard a cruise ship is either a bizarre and tragic coincidence, or a signal that something unusual happened aboard this vessel. We don’t yet have the full picture and we should be careful not to get ahead of the evidence.
What we do know is this: the only strain of hantavirus documented to spread person-to-person is the Andes virus, found in South America. Most hantavirus strains found throughout the United States and, crucially, in most cruise itinerary regions, are not known to spread from person to person. That’s a meaningful distinction and one that should (for now) temper anxiety about onboard transmission.
There are no cures specifically for hantavirus. Treatment in serious cases means intensive care, intubation, oxygen therapy and blood pressure support. Prevention, as the experts say, is everything. If you encounter rodent droppings in a hotel room, an Airbnb or a cruise cabin, do not sweep or vacuum. Wet the area, spray a bleach or commercial disinfectant solution, let it sit five minutes, and clean with paper towels while wearing gloves and a well-fitted N95 mask.
The Pundit’s Mantra
The bigger picture for frequent travelers: cruise lines have robust public health protocols. Therefore, incidents of rodent infestations aboard modern ships are extraordinarily rare. The CDC monitors cruise ship sanitation through its Vessel Sanitation. At the moment, health officials are still working to confirm whether these deaths are definitively linked to hantavirus and, more importantly, how any exposure may have occurred.
If you cruise frequently or are about to board one soon, then it makes a lot of sense to follow news about this latest strain of virus.
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