‘Healthy and asymptomatic’: Two Indians aboard ship with hantavirus cases evacuated to Netherlands

Two Indian nationals aboard the Dutch-flagged vessel MV Hondius have been evacuated to the Netherlands following a hantavirus outbreak on board, the Embassy of India in Madrid said on Sunday.

The disease has killed three passengers on the cruise, sparking global health concerns. On Friday, the chief of the National Institute of Virology said the hantavirus outbreak posed no immediate public health threat to India.

The ship, carrying around 150 persons including two Indian crew members, arrived off the coast of Spain’s Canary Islands after the outbreak was reported during its voyage across the Atlantic Ocean.

The ship anchored offshore while passengers disembarked in line with the protocols laid down by the World Health Organization and the Spanish authorities, the embassy said.

“The two Indian nationals are healthy and asymptomatic,” it added.

According to Spain’s National Centre for Emergency Monitoring and Coordination, the two crew members were evacuated to the Netherlands, where they will undergo quarantine under health safety protocols, the embassy said.

The ship had begun its journey from Ushuaia in Argentina on April 1 before the outbreak was detected during the voyage. At least three deaths have been linked to the infection.

A passenger is believed to have contracted hantavirus before boarding the vessel and later transmitted it to others while the ship travelled across the Atlantic Ocean.

A Dutch couple who had travelled through South America before boarding the ship in Ushuaia were reportedly among the first fatalities.

On Thursday, the World Health Organization said more hantavirus cases could still emerge. However, it added that the outbreak would likely remain “limited” if public health measures are properly implemented by countries.

What is hantavirus?

Hantavirus is a zoonotic disease, meaning it is communicable from animals to humans. It is carried by rodents that can cause a range of severe illnesses among humans, and possibly death. People usually get infected by Hantavirus through contact with infected rodents or their droppings or saliva.

There are no vaccines and no specific treatment that cures hantavirus diseases, according to the World Health Organization. But early supportive medical care, such as close clinical monitoring and management of respiratory, cardiac and kidney complications, can help improve the chances of survival, according to the global health body.

Prevention depends largely on reducing contact with infected persons and rodents. Andes hantavirus found in South America is a known virus for which limited human‑to‑human transmission among close contacts has been documented, according to the World Health Organization.

In humans, the symptoms usually begin between one week to eight weeks of exposure to the virus. The symptoms typically include fever, headache, muscle aches and gastrointestinal problems such as abdominal pain, nausea or vomiting.

Written by Sara Varghese. Edited by Tanya Shrivastava