See plea from cruise ship passengers amid suspected hantavirus infection
Passengers are speaking out after a luxury cruise runs aground off the coast of West Africa due to a suspected hantavirus outbreak, forcing families to stay home.
Authorities are working to determine the source of the hantavirus cluster on board the cruise ship, which has resulted in three laboratory-confirmed cases and five additional suspected cases.
Three people aboard Oceanwide Expeditions’ MV Hondius have died, one of whom was confirmed to have been infected with a variant of the hantavirus.
Hantaviruses are primarily spread by exposure to the urine, feces, or saliva of infected rodents. World Health Organization official Maria van Kerkhove said at a May 5 press conference that the cruise line had told the organization there were no rats on board.
That’s the norm, said Walt Nadolny, professor emeritus of shipping and global business at the State University of New York Maritime College and former environmental director for Carnival Cruise Line and Norwegian Cruise Line. Although much remains unknown about where the passengers were infected, it is unusual for rats, mice and other rodents to be observed on cruise ships.
Here’s why:
Are there rats or mice on cruise ships?
In general, no. “I’ve been on cruise ships and inspected everything from the bilge to the galleys to the cabins, and I’ve never seen any evidence of rodents or rodent droppings,” he said.
He said traps are set “everywhere” as a precaution, but rodents are not usually caught. Cruise lines typically have a designated crew member on board who is responsible for these procedures.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Ship Hygiene Program also regularly inspects ships calling at U.S. ports in a variety of areas, including pest management. The health department’s website says inspectors are interviewing “the person responsible for the ship’s pest management plan” to ensure that employees are knowledgeable about pest control.
Other jurisdictions have similar authorities.
Van Kerkhove said the WHO believes the first guest to show symptoms and his wife, who both died, were infected on land. “Our guess is that they got infected from the ship and then went on the cruise,” she said.
The expedition’s sailings also stopped at several islands off the coast of Africa, some of which were home to large numbers of rodents, she added. “Therefore, it is possible that other suspected cases also have some source of infection on the island,” van Kerkhof said.
Person-to-person transmission may also occur between close contacts.
Van Kerkhove stressed that the health threat to the general public is low. “This is not a virus that spreads like the flu or COVID-19,” she said. “It’s completely different.”
You also run the risk of encountering rats and mice on your next cruise. If CDC inspectors find evidence of rodent feces, “the ship will be stopped in port for a thorough cleaning,” Nadolny said.
“The cruise industry takes hygiene on board very seriously.”
Nathan Diller is a consumer travel reporter for USA TODAY based in Nashville. Please contact us at ndiller@usatoday.com.
