Hantavirus Horror SOLVED? Investigators Trace MV Hondius Cruise Outbreak to SHOCKING Source | WATCH

Added: 2026-05-07

[00:00:00][music] [music] >> Health officials now believe they may have traced the source of the deadly Hantavirus outbreak linked to the cruise ship MV Hondius.

[00:00:29]According to investigators cited by the Associated Press, the virus likely originated during a bird-watching excursion in Argentina weeks before the ship even set sail.

[00:00:41]Authorities say a Dutch couple, among the first victims, may have contracted the infection while visiting a landfill site in Ushuaia in mid-March, an area where rodents are known to carry the virus.

[00:00:54]Hantavirus, >> [music] >> as per health officials, is typically transmitted by inhaling particles from infected rodent urine or droppings. But, there's a major complication.

[00:01:05]Officials had previously stated that the region, Tierra del Fuego, had never recorded a case of Hantavirus.

[00:01:13]Raising questions about how the virus appeared [music] there in the first place.

[00:01:18]The couple then boarded the MV Hondius on March 20 for a 35-day [music] expedition.

[00:01:25]The 70-year-old man began showing symptoms by early April, fever, headaches, abdominal pain, which later escalated into acute respiratory [music] distress.

[00:01:37]He died on April 11, but his infection was only linked to Hantavirus weeks later.

[00:01:46]In a troubling development, his body remained on board the vessel for nearly 2 weeks.

[00:01:51]During that time, his [music] wife also fell ill.

[00:01:56]She later traveled to South Africa with his body and died in a Johannesburg hospital on April 25th.

[00:02:05]>> [music] >> What followed was a chain of infections that alarmed health authorities.

[00:02:14]At least eight additional passengers and crew members fell sick in the days [music] that followed. And by May 2nd, a third death was reported on the ship.

[00:02:23]The situation escalated further when three infected passengers from the UK, the Netherlands, and Germany were evacuated from the vessel [music] off Cape Verde.

[00:02:32]According to the World Health Organization, two of them were in serious condition and required urgent medical care.

[00:02:39]Images from the evacuation show patients in full protective gear [music] being transported under strict precautions.

[00:02:45]Among those evacuated was also the ship's doctor, who had previously been in serious condition, but is now reported to be improving, as per Spain's health ministry.

[00:02:55]Despite the spread, officials say those still on board are not showing symptoms, and the overall risk of transmission remains low.

[00:03:04]>> [music] >> The ship is now expected to dock in Tenerife, but that plan has sparked a debate in Spain.

[00:03:11]Canary Islands President Fernando Clavijo has raised concerns about potential risks to residents, while central government officials have pushed back, calling those fears quote irresponsible, end quote, according to El País.

[00:03:23]As the investigation continues, authorities are still working to confirm how the virus first emerged in a region with no prior cases, and whether this outbreak could have been prevented.

[00:03:45]Uh it is a virus. It It's main host is in rodents, rats and mice.

[00:03:51]It's actually a family of viruses um uh and I think about half a dozen or so have been associated with human infections.

[00:04:00]Um each of those viruses tend to be associated with different rodents. So, some um one I think is associated with the um brown rats and others are associated with different mice species.

[00:04:12]They um you you acquire the infection typically from breathing in aerosols that are contaminated with rat urine and feces or rodent urine and feces. And um so, one of the riskiest things is um cleaning out rats' nests from your house. Yeah, that's that's a well-known risk.

[00:04:40]Um it's it depending on which type of the virus infects you, you it it generally causes either um a pulmonary syndrome, a chest infection, and the mortality rate from that's quite high, up to about 30% give or take.

[00:04:59]Um and um uh uh a renal hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome, which mortality rate's a bit lower, maybe about 10%.

[00:05:12]Um it doesn't appear to spread person-to-person.

[00:05:16]Um there have been some suggestions that it might, but um other researchers have cast doubt on that evidence. Um so, it's it's not clear. If if person-to-person spread does happen, it's probably quite uncommon.

[00:05:36]Um there's no specific treatment. It's supportive. So, if you've got renal failure, it's ensuring you have dialysis and and if you've got pulmonary disease, it's ensuring that got your airways protected and you've got the artificial breathing and that sort of thing.

[00:05:52]And absolutely, World Health Organization has particular responsibilities for um cruises between member states, you know, so um uh it it it produces guidelines and recommendations and I think it has some um I I can't remember the exact details now, but it has some statutory responsibilities uh that uh in these areas. So, it is um and it's actually the WHO has actually already submitted um a statement uh released a statement to say the fact that they're supporting the investigation on on the um uh on the cruise liner, although I I don't know exactly what they mean by that, so what it what the nature of that support is, but um yes, they're they're certainly aware and and are um and and um responding to it. I think they will be looking at it. Yes, and >> [clears throat] >> I mean, to be honest, I I can't remember hearing about an outbreak of hantavirus on a cruise ship before.

[00:06:57]Um uh It is a worldwide infection.

[00:07:02]Um it's um it uh you you can pick up the infection up in this country. So, there have been infections acquired in the UK, but they're pretty uncommon.

[00:07:15]Um Estimates are about there's about 150,000 infections globally annually from hantavirus. Um So, so it's not an incredibly rare. It's an uncommon infection, but it's not an incredibly rare disease and um they um whether uh cruise liners are well known for um being associated with outbreaks of infectious disease, but particularly primarily person-to-person disease. So, you know, norovirus, influenza, and COVID were were all well-described outbreaks associated with cruise liners. And it and you often with a cruise line, you tend to have a predominantly [clears throat] elderly population who may be more at risk of severe severe disease.

[00:08:08]You have um people who may well have um pre-existing medical conditions as well. So, that when they do get sick, they can become more ill and and uh and you can get more severe, you know, and more more higher death rates in that sort of population because of their age and and their medical vulnerability. Yeah, it it doesn't have to be physical contact because this spreads through the air.

[00:08:33]So, you have as I said, the typical one is is clearing out areas where rats have been. And and you suspend the dried feces and urine into the air, breathe it in, and that's how you get the infection.

[00:08:46]>> [music]