Distraught passengers onboard the stranded MV Hondius could face quarantine for up to eight weeks, a health expert warned Tuesday – as officials scrambled to contain a deadly hantavirus outbreak on the cruise liner.
“I’m sure people are isolated or quarantined in their rooms or cabins, but unfortunately, that quarantine period can take up to eight weeks,” New Jersey-based emergency medicine physician Sampson Davis told The Post. “The virus usually has a quick onset, but it can linger up to about eight weeks before it has an impact.”
Hantavirus is typically only spread through rodent droppings, but one rare strain, the Andes virus, can spread between people and carries a 40% mortality rate – and it’s likely the culprit behind the outbreak, which has killed three passengers and sickened at least seven others, the World Health Organization said Tuesday.
The possibility gained traction after no evidence of rodents were found onboard the Dutch vessel, which set sail on March 20. The Andes virus is only found in parts of Chile and Argentina, though not in the Argentinian region where the weeks-long voyage began.
Medical teams boarded the ship, anchored off Cape Verde, to treat two infected crew members and test other symptomatic passengers Tuesday, according to WHO epidemic and pandemic preparedness director Maria Van Kerkhove.
With no clear rodent source, Davis said investigators must determine what links the infected passengers.
“There has to be some sort of commonality that took place with these individuals,” he said.
Doctors also stressed that fully disinfecting the ship is critical and explained that there is no cure for hantavirus – symptoms can only be treated.
While early signs can resemble the flu – including fevers and stomach issues – the virus can quickly turn severe, warned Todd Ellerin, director of infectious disease at South Shore Health.
“It can very rapidly affect the heart and lungs and cause a fatal type of pneumonia” or respiratory distress, Ellerin told The Post. “Basically, the lungs can get filled up with fluid.”
The goal for the MV Hondius’ roughly 150 passengers, according to Davis, should be to move them off the ship and into a quarantine facility on land – though doing so “depends on if someplace will eventually allow them to dock,” he pointed out.
After Cape Verde authorities denied the ship port of entry Monday, the WHO announced it was granted permission to dock in Spain’s Canary Islands – though Spanish officials have not confirmed that plan.
Despite the alarming outbreak, experts stressed the risk of widespread transmission remains low, as the Andes strain typically requires prolonged, close contact in order to spread.
“This is absolutely not going to become the next pandemic. This is not something that the general population has to be concerned about,” Ellerin insisted.
“The challenge we have right now is that those who are not positive, may become positive … because you could be negative today and convert tomorrow,” said Davis, who recommended daily testing during a quarantine of between two and eight weeks. Ellerin estimated the incubation period at around one to six weeks.
As of Tuesday, passengers remained onboard the MV Hondius under isolation protocols. The ship’s operator, Oceanwide Expeditions, reportedly described conditions as “calm,” with guests’ behavior “generally composed.”
Passenger Jake Rosmarin told CNN that guests had the option to have their meals delivered to their cabins and access to the boat’s outer decks was allowed.
“Oceanwide Expeditions and the crew have been doing everything within their ability to keep passengers safe, informed, and as comfortable as possible during this time,” he told the outlet.
But experts warned of the psychological toll on the cruisers from being stranded on the liner.
“There’s going to be a lot of anxiety,” Ellerin said.
“They have to really be feeling the stress and anguish,” Davis agreed. “It’ll be better when they’re moved inland and put in a place where they can have a bit more freedom to move around, and mentally be away from the trauma they experienced on the ship.”
Davis said the outbreak should serve as a warning to other cruise lines.
“If this happened once, it can happen again in the same sort of way,” he warned.
Veteran cruise journalist David Yeskel, on the other hand, described the incident as just a ripple.
“It shouldn’t have a lasting effect on bookings, since modern cruise ships adhere to hygiene standards that exceed those of land-based resorts,” Yeskel said, adding that cruise ships around the world are subject to strict safety and sanitation regulations, as well as regular inspections.
“Potential cruise passengers and especially those who haven’t cruised don’t need to worry about cleanliness aboard ships or an incident like this reoccurring,” he told The Post.
