Key facts
- Three passengers have died from a hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship.
- The virus, spread by rodents, rarely transmits between people.
- The Andes virus strain may spread between humans in rare instances.
- Symptoms include flu-like illness, progressing to lung or kidney issues.
- Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome has a 35% fatality rate.
An outbreak of hantavirus aboard a cruise ship has resulted in three passenger deaths and sickened others, prompting health officials to take precautions. While the virus, spread by rodents, rarely transmits between people, the specific strain involved, Andes virus, has shown the capacity for human-to-human transmission in rare instances. Health officials emphasize that the risk to the general public remains low and that this outbreak is not expected to become a pandemic.
The virus is typically contracted by inhaling contaminated rodent droppings or aerosols. Symptoms can begin one to eight weeks after exposure and include fever, chills, muscle aches, and headaches, potentially progressing to severe lung or kidney complications. Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome has a fatality rate of approximately 35%, while hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome has a rate of 1% to 15%.
Investigations into the cruise ship outbreak are ongoing, with officials in Argentina suspecting the initial infections may have occurred during a birdwatching trip in Ushuaia. This region has seen a surge in hantavirus cases, which some researchers attribute to climate change. Globally, hantavirus infections are uncommon, with the WHO reporting 229 cases and 59 deaths in the Americas in 2025. Argentina's health ministry reported 101 infections and 28 deaths nationwide last year.