Source: French to English Tester Published on: 2026-05-07
Source: The Conversation – in French– By Benoit Barbeau, Associate professor, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM)
The MV Hondius ship, the source of the hantavirus that caused the death of three passengers and infected at least five others, left Cape Verde on Wednesday and is expected on Saturday in Tenerife, in the Spanish Canary Islands archipelago,hence the evacuation of passengers, including Canadians, is expected to begin on Monday.
It is theAndean viruswhich is at issue here, the only one in the group of hantaviruses transmissible between humans, notably through saliva droplets and urine.
It is unlikely that the first person infected by this hantavirus was on board the MV Hondius or during a stopover. The incubation period points to acontamination occurred before the departure from Ushuaïa, in the south of Argentina, at the beginning of April. Several of the cruise passengers traveled in Argentina and Chile, where the virus is endemic.
The risk posed by this hantavirus is “low” for “the rest of the world,” declared the World Health Organization (WHO),which sweeps away any similarity with the Covid-19 pandemic.
But what do we know about this hantavirus? We contacted Professor Benoît Barbeau from the Department of Biological Sciences at UQAM, an expert in virology, whose research focuses on human retroviruses and coronaviruses.
The Conversation Canada: What are we dealing with with the Andes hantavirus?
Dr Benoît Barbeau :It is part of a group of viruses classified under the genus orthhantavirus. The Andean type can occasionally be transmitted to humans by rodents (through particles of excrement or urine) and cause pulmonary and hemorrhagic syndromes, which can be potentially fatal.
What is understood, but not yet confirmed at this moment, is that a person may have visited places in Argentina where there were infected wild mice present. After coming into contact with particles of droppings or urine, unknowingly, they may have inhaled these or any other similar type of material. This is the most probable scenario. This person would have arrived on the ship already infected. The contamination of other passengers then continued from there.
It should be known that the Andean hantavirus does not have a very high transmission efficiency between humans. It is transmitted through urine, saliva, repeated contacts… For example, on a boat, in the same cabin, with frequent contacts. The virus is not transmissible via aerosol, like the flu or Covid. That is still reassuring.
TCCÂ: It is not so easily transmissible, but much more deadly…
B.B.:Indeed. This virus causes two types of diseases: a hemorrhagic fever, which is reminiscent of Ebola, and has a high mortality rate (Editor’s note: Up to 40%), or a pulmonary syndrome, equally lethal. Currently, there are no antiviral treatments. We can only alleviate the symptoms.
TCCÂ: It is a virus less efficient in its transmission, but its incubation can be long…
B.BÂ :Indeed, the incubation period can last up to eight weeks, compared to two to three days for Covid. This obviously complicates the transmission chain. That said, the person will not be contagious during these eight weeks, but most likely more so when the symptoms start to appear.
TCCÂ: Why is South America more affected by this form of hantavirus?
B.B.:We don’t really know much. Generally speaking, in fact, we know little about this virus, which was only identified at the end of the 1970s. It is therefore a relatively recent virus for us, even though we know that, historically, some outbreaks may have been linked to it. It is present in several places (including Canada), but remains very rare. Since 1989, about a hundred human cases have been recorded in Canada. Among them, around twenty have died. That said, perhaps other people have been infected but not recorded.
What we know is that the wood mouse is the main strain of infection. It can carry the virus but is more tolerant to the infection, so it is not sick, and the risk of contagion is greater. It becomes a reservoir. Much like the bat for several viruses, such as Ebola, coronaviruses, and the rabies virus.
TCCÂ: Will the current widely publicized outbreak encourage further research development?
B.B.:Possibly… We hope for an awakening on the part of governments. We would be wise to investigate better. But more funding goes to research on viruses that have the greatest impact on a country and its population. And since the majority of hantaviruses are not transmissible from human to human, there is not much interest for governments to invest in the research.
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Putting energy and money into developing a vaccine would not be very profitable either, because an effective vaccine for the Andean type, for example, would very likely be ineffective for other hantaviruses, and there are many of them. That adds to the complexity. It is better to invest in treatments; it is more effective. We could start by reusing or testing other known antivirals.
TCCÂ: What to expect next?
B.B.:Everything depends on what will result from the epidemiological analyses… There are passengers who left the cruise ship before we knew there was an outbreak. They must be traced, as well as the people they have been in contact with. The transfer of passengers still on board the ship must take place in the coming days, from the Canary Islands. People will be repatriated to their respective countries. They will be isolated and confined with measures that will certainly be strict, so there is no risk of transmission to the population.
I believe we can be confident. But we must remain very vigilant.
Benoit Barbeau does not work for, advise, own shares in, or receive funds from any organization that could benefit from this article, and has declared no other affiliation than his research organization.
–ref. Three dead on a cruise ship: what is known about the Andes hantavirus –https://theconversation.com/three-deaths-on-a-cruise-ship-what-we-know-about-the-andean-hantavirus-282320