What do I need to know about hantavirus?

A cruise ship located off Cape Verde in the Atlantic is the locus of an outbreak of hantavirus, a pathogen with a high mortality rate.

The ship, MV Hondias, left Argentina on April 1st, and it was scheduled to visit Antarctica and other locations, but the outbreak changed the plans.

Thus far, five cases of hantavirus have been confirmed by laboratory testing.

Three more cases are suspected, bringing the total to eight.

That's according to the World Health Organization.

Three people have died.

Three patients, two confirmed and one suspected case, are being evacuated from the cruise ship to the Netherlands.

Nearly 150 people remain on board the ship and are waiting to head to the Canary Islands.

Hantavirus is most often transmitted to humans by wild rodents.

South African health authorities, though, say they identified the Andes strain of hantavirus in two passengers, and Swiss authorities say they identified the same virus in their affected patient.

The WHO says the Andes serotype of hantavirus can rarely be spread between people through close contact, such as by sharing a bed or food.

Due to WHO concerns about possible person-to-person spread of the virus, the cruise ship has not been permitted to dock.

There is clearly a lot to talk about in this fast-moving story.

So this week on The Dose, we're asking, what do I need to know about hantavirus? The interview you're about to hear was recorded on May 5th, 2026.

A cruise ship located off Cape Verde in the Atlantic is the locus of an outbreak of hantavirus, a pathogen with a high mortality rate.

The ship, MV Hondias, left Argentina on April 1st, and it was scheduled to visit Antarctica and other locations, but the outbreak changed the plans.

Thus far, five cases of hantavirus have been confirmed by laboratory testing.

Three more cases are suspected, bringing the total to eight.

That's according to the World Health Organization.

Three people have died.

Three patients, two confirmed and one suspected case, are being evacuated from the cruise ship to the Netherlands.

Nearly 150 people remain on board the ship and are waiting to head to the Canary Islands.

Hantavirus is most often transmitted to humans by wild rodents.

South African health authorities, though, say they identified the Andes strain of hantavirus in two passengers, and Swiss authorities say they identified the same virus in their affected patient.

The WHO says the Andes serotype of hantavirus can rarely be spread between people through close contact, such as by sharing a bed or food.

Due to WHO concerns about possible person-to-person spread of the virus, the cruise ship has not been permitted to dock.

There is clearly a lot to talk about in this fast-moving story.

So this week on The Dose, we're asking, what do I need to know about hantavirus? The interview you're about to hear was recorded on May 5th, 2026.