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News & Current Events May 4, 2026 at 1:01 PM

Cruise ship at centre of suspected hantavirus outbreak blocked from docking in Cape Verde

Posted by DoubtSubstantial5440

British crew member in need of urgent medical care amid suspected hantavirus outbreak on cruise ship
the Guardian
British crew member in need of urgent medical care amid suspected hantavirus outbreak on cruise ship
WHO says seven confirmed or suspected cases of hantavirus on MV Hondius, including three passengers who died
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bmkerce May 4, 2026 +5825
I mean, do you blame them?
5825
CheesecakeEither8220 May 4, 2026 +2592
Has Madagascar closed their borders yet? Because if so, we're definitely screwed.
2592
fleemfleemfleemfleem May 4, 2026 +793
I remember a bunch of jokes about that game in early 2020
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computerCoptor May 4, 2026 +490
Haha we were living it back then. Covid ‘happened’ while we were deployed at sea. Nobody would let us port anywhere and we were designated a ‘bubble ship’ so we could continue operations during a pandemic. While the world stopped moving for a year, we literally never stopped moving 😅 when we finally got home after 10 brutal months, the world was nothing like when we left it
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lowfiswish 6 days ago +223
This could make an interesting book. I just finished reading station 11, a book from 2015, and it talks about ships sitting out on the horizon unable to dock while people were on the shores getting sick. To be those people coming back - at what point do you?
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Ayzmo 6 days ago +60
That book was creepy to read after COVID.
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readyable 6 days ago +32
Creepy and so good! The show is also amazing in its own right.
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Designasim 6 days ago +15
I was happy I didn't read it before Covid.
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Accurate_Mobile9005 6 days ago +20
Look up "The Last Ship"
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computerCoptor 6 days ago +19
Oh wow I’ll definitely check it out, thank you! It seems like if the world fell into chaos, the Navy would just stay out at sea until supplies run out. In reality that could be a very short time because they rely on bi-weekly ‘replenishment at sea’ periods keep the massive crew fed and the ship topped up.
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parasyte_steve May 4, 2026 +49
My husband works on boats and I cannot imagine this insanity. Did you at least get paid for those 10 months? They were able to continue to operate as they are oil and gas transfer despite having covid outbreaks on the boat a few times.
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computerCoptor 6 days ago +42
As long as the government didn’t shut down, we were paid our normal salary. Truth be told, we didn’t know because the internet was very limited. I could only communicate with my wife and family via Facebook Messenger at certain times of day. Those transfer ships were literally the only way we were able to maintain sailing indefinitely. Tell your husband that what he does helps keep the world rotating lol. We would match speeds to them and they connect to our ship via these crazy rope systems and slide crates of supplies over. And of course, because it was Covid, it took extra long because every package had to be sanitized with alcohol wipes. Those were some of the only decent days at sea after a while, because we were close enough to tell to them and talk to someone else for a change. I was a helicopter mechanic, and one of my close friends was a crewman. He flew in from the main body of our squadron to deliver us mail and I went to give him a hug and was tackled by the flight deck officer for ‘almost breaking the bubble’ It was sad :/
42
french_snail May 4, 2026 +163
You can go even further back to the 2000’s for references to a flash game called pandemic 2 that had the same premise and same Madagascar/greenland problem 
163
NaughtyNarwhal96 May 4, 2026 +96
Isn't it the same game?
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Dooontcareee May 4, 2026 +56
Pretty much. Been playing that game since the early 2000s and still playing.
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french_snail May 4, 2026 +35
Pandemic 2 predates plague inc by a good amount but they’re very similar, I think they’re both homages to a third thing iirc 
35
KazumaKat May 4, 2026 +24
They are. IIRC it was called "Virus" or something similar to that. This predates even me and I'm ancient as f***.
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ThePrussianGrippe May 4, 2026 +30
I mean that’s the game people were referencing in 2020.
30
buttscarltoniv May 4, 2026 +30
no, it was plague, inc., which was inspired by pandemic 2. plague, inc was on mobile while pandemic 2 was flash so more people knew of it
30
dalzmc May 4, 2026 +20
That is really irritating to think about cuz it makes me feel old, flash games were such a big part of my childhood.. kids these days aren’t built the same cuz they didn’t play the impossible quiz 😂 But it makes complete sense, after I got my iPod touch I probably didn’t play flash games even at school anymore
20
Kruppe420 May 4, 2026 +34
My first “shit something’s really happening” moment was when my wife was having an outpatient procedure in early February 2020, and the hospital had a bunch of warning signs posted requiring people from certain countries to wear masks, all literally showing photos of Asian people in masks. So I spent about 30 minutes researching COVID and then another 2 hours playing Plague Inc in the waiting room.
34
GhostsofGojira May 4, 2026 +32
I'm more so focusing on Greenland
32
Ki-to-Life-5054 May 4, 2026 +267
Makes sense to quarantine them but it sucks for the people on board who might be freaking out.
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NinjaMcGee May 4, 2026 +115
Might be? I promise r/medicine is having a discussion right now.
115
Ki-to-Life-5054 May 4, 2026 +91
The way I see it, there would be two options: freaking out and drinking. Or that might be one option.
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drewts86 May 4, 2026 +38
Just air drop them some weed and hot box the ship so everyone will chill out.
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Sanchastayswoke 6 days ago +9
Just went there, zero posts about it in the last month
9
S7ageNinja May 4, 2026 +91
Nope, this is standard protocol. Not even news worthy
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A_Nonny_Muse May 4, 2026 +89
Sucks to be onboard, but yeah. They're all exposed. It's not like we're going to sink the ship with all on board, or anything dramatic. But how do you get rid of the hanta virus from a ship that size? Best thing to do, I'm guessing, would be to bring in a couple of other ships, and off board them a few at a time From the cruise ship to a clean quarantine ship. Then, when they're medically proven not sick, move them to the third ship. Rinse and repeat till everyone is offboard. All their luggage will have to stay behind, lest it carry either a critter or the virus. Then they can chemical bomb the cruise ship till every living critter is guaranteed not living. Even then, they have to remove every speck of dust to be sure they got the virus cleaned up. And I mean *every single speck of dust*. It might be cheaper and more certain to just sink it and build a new one. One thing is certain - I would not trust the company to do an adequate cleaning. The Hanta vector is airborne dust from mouse urine or fecal matter. All you need for another outbreak is to disturb any crack, crevice, or corner they missed. Even years after the mice are long gone.
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TheWorldMayEnd May 4, 2026 +38
The internet is telling me Hentavirus stays active for days to weeks in mouse droppings. If you can actually kill all mouse life on board, why would the worry take place for years after? You need all the mice dead to stop droppings of course, but after that wouldn't a 2 month~ quarantine of the ship be sufficient to stop the virus?
38
parasyte_steve May 4, 2026 +45
if you could kill all mouse life onboard is a pretty big if.. these ships are absolutely massive.
45
RowHopeful5600 6 days ago +23
This is a small expedition ship (less than 200 passengers) that has extremely strict measures in place to prevent rodents. They travel to vulnerable islands and literally have rodent detector dogs to inspect the ship. It's highly unlikely this was caused by rodents on the ship.  edit: spelling
23
Leafy0 May 4, 2026 +17
No, and I wish we did that to the Covid cruise ship before the pandemic was noticed in the USA instead of inviting them to Florida.
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Fluffcake May 4, 2026 +49
Hantavirus does not transfer between people, you will have to inhale feces from indected rodents to get sick. If it transferred between humans, somewhere between 30-60% of the ship would be dead.
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SecretPresentation54 May 4, 2026 +117
Unless it's ANDV, the Andes hantavirus which has been shown to spread person to person in some cases and since it and the cruise ship originated from Argentina.....
117
Idontknowthosewords May 4, 2026 +29
Yeah, it’s rare but it can be transmitted human to human.
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FaderJockey2600 May 4, 2026 +23
I believe only known cases of the Andes virus transmission, based on limited reports and no in-depth studies, were in individuals with already severe underlying conditions like liver damage and respiratory issues. It is not a generic easily transmissible virus like the common flu or even Ebola are.
23
statslady23 6 days ago +11
Yeah there was a pub med article where they did gene sequencing. It was probably passed from one person to a family member, then definitely passed to a health professional via person to person transmission. Gap was two weeks from onset of symptoms in each case. 
11
thiswasyouridea 6 days ago +4
Okay, but- viruses can mutate. Also, it's possible the ones who died did have some underlying issues.
4
TremendouslyRegarded May 4, 2026 +2421
I worked on cruise ships for 10 years total .. the absolute worst is when any kind of outbreak happens, the ship goes into “red code” and my normally cushy tech job gets a ton of all hands on deck duties added to it. Every crew dining area, guest buffet must now have no shared utensils and a crew member stationed to serve onto guest plates, constant sanitizing of common areas.. they work you a shit ton of hours, no extra pay and full authority under international labor laws/contract language to do it. Its a good job for a while until you experience that bs a couple times
2421
madmitten100 May 4, 2026 +561
Was on a cruise with that happening.  Can't remember the bug that was floating around, stomach of some kind.  Friend on board had a daughter that cought for a day or two.  Cruise gave medicine for free and she was isolated in room till symptoms were gone. Anyone not sick, wasn't even a problem as only change was crew doing food service at buffet and increased hand sanitizer.
561
StinkMaster90 May 4, 2026 +367
1. that was norovirus, and you are still contagious for up to 2 weeks after symptoms go away (virus still sheds through your poop) 2. Hand sanitizer (and any cleaner that isnt bleach based) does not kill norovirus. most people dont wash their hands properly, and spread norovirus around every single winter. Its so easy to avoid but nobody cares to research anything or wash their hands.
367
BiploarFurryEgirl May 4, 2026 +111
My mom and my brother got norovirus on a cruise ship once. It was f****** awful
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rationalomega May 4, 2026 +32
My kid’s preschool had a noro outbreak one time. It sucked so f****** much. Somehow my child got a mild case, thank god, he just transmitted it to us.
32
bewildered_forks 6 days ago +17
Same. The only saving grace was that the bathroom was small enough that i could sit on the toilet and barf in the sink at the same time. Sickest I've ever been.
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Due_Warthog725 May 4, 2026 +47
No washy washy then you poopy poopy
47
WolverinesThyroid May 4, 2026 +29
it can also survive in the pool water.
29
margmi 6 days ago +12
My cousin brought her kids who both had norovirus onto a cruise. They had norovirus before she left the house, and still she came. I didn’t know they had norovirus until I had already been around them, including eating out of the same pack of cookies.
12
Delicious_Delilah 6 days ago +23
I got norovirus from a salad bar, and I thought I was going to die. I was puking from both ends (sometimes at the same time), and I couldn't even keep a single sip of water down. I threw up so much bile that the back of my teeth have some erosion damage. 😐
23
ragun2 6 days ago +16
I got it once and thought the same too, like not even an exaggeration. On day 2 I was thinking if it wasn't any better by the next day I was going to go to the ER or something but three days of zero water sounds like kidney damage. Thankfully on day 3 I could handle a sip every now and then and think I kept down like 5 saltines lol. I remember night 2 thinking how millions of people have died from things like that and I'm not any more special than any of them but at least I have modern medicine available and treatment a short drive away.
16
Beard_o_Bees May 4, 2026 +140
Have y'all heard about the 'poop cruise'? Netflix did an episode of 'Trainwreck' on it. https://www.netflix.com/title/81763679 A Carnival ship had an engine room fire, losing propulsion, electricity and horrendously the toilets stopped working. I think they were drifting in a hot, open sewer for ~5 days.
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buttscarltoniv May 4, 2026 +37
yeah that was a wild story, but nothing really to do with this. the ship still has power and all that, just has to contain a potential virus breakout.
37
Equivalent-Battle973 May 4, 2026 +253
This is why I never want to go on a cruise... My wifes family wants to do a disney cruise, and they said they are awesome, but the thought of a mass breakout of some kind of stomach bug.. NO F****** THANK YOU.
253
PM_me_punanis May 4, 2026 +234
It's also one of the most environmentally damaging ways you can travel. I never saw the appeal of being stuck in a ship full of uninteresting things to do.
234
ExoticWeapon May 4, 2026 +34
Yeah I will never take a cruise ship for that reason. It could be peak human experience objectively speaking, I’m not going.
34
cross_the_threshold May 4, 2026 +70
See THAT's the actual thing to worry about but everyone just believes whatever shit anyone tells them about cruise ships because people are really really really REALLY vulnerable to propaganda. Allegedly cruise companies are actually working for more efficiency, and are pursing "net zero" emissions by 2050, and if they actually do achieve that, there's still the issue of displacement and wave action in protected areas like Venice or other sensitive locations, but the environmental impact of cruise ships, even accounting for how they're providing the experience of a resort rather than simple transportation, is very high. They're not magical dens of sickness that kill people though, they're no riskier than being on land - if something goes terribly wrong it will suck, but if you've lived in an area after a bad hurricane or tornado or flood or fire or any other significant disaster you'll know that sometimes shit just f****** sucks. But cruise ships are really bad for the environment.
70
afterglobe May 4, 2026 +95
Studied travel and tourism in college. Been working in the travel industry for over 12 years. Emissions is not the only thing that makes cruising unsustainable for the environment. You’re travelling on a floating city. You’re docking in tiny ports that cannot sustain 20k+ people’s worth of trash. And most cruises are NOT bringing all the trash everywhere you go. So what happens? The cruise offloads the trash at port, and in these smaller destinations they don’t have the waste management capable of handling all of this trash. So then what happens? The destinations (NOT ALL) bury the trash at sea. On top of that, the sheer volume of tourists that come through a port on any given day is causing environmental and infrasfructure damage to the ports. Civitavecchia has seen their ancient cobblestones at port wearing down under the sheer size of foot traffic at their port. https://earth.org/the-environmental-impact-of-cruise-ships/
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Master_sweetcream May 4, 2026 +39
I heard that the tourists don’t even spend that much money on the ports so it’s not even beneficial to have them there in the first place. Most of them go back to the ship to eat. So the port towns don’t even get much tourist money from it.
39
PM_me_punanis May 4, 2026 +20
Yes, they usually just sight see. Buy a trinket or two, maybe a snack, then leave, also leaving behind trash along the way. I used to frequent Italy when I lived in Brussels. The cruise ships are gigantic and tower over everything except their large cathedrals. It is a blight for people who are enjoying the view from their hotels on land, then bam, a huge ass cruise ship just blocks the scenery.
20
Level_32_Mage May 4, 2026 +31
The environmental part is enough for me, thanks.
31
Muted_Bee7111 May 4, 2026 +40
Cruise ships are environmental disasters for the earth. They need to be outlawed. Just Petri dishes of disgust
40
Ok_macncheese May 4, 2026 +20
As a medic on a vessel, I can attest. Ship outbreaks run my nightmares.
20
ThatKinkyLady May 4, 2026 +19
I went on a cruise that was about 95% people over the age of 70 (Viking cruise line). 2 days before the end of the cruise I realized I was sick. Thought it was a stomach thing. It was covid. What freaked me out is that I'm almost positive I got it from a staff member that gave me a facial at the spa. There was no announcements about any sort of outbreak or anything. I stayed quarantined in my room but when it came time to disembark there was quite a lot of coughing in the lobby. Several people like myself wearing masks. And they just sent us all out off the ship into crowded airports and wherever. I don't exactly know what I would expect them to do, but it was pretty alarming.
19
S7ageNinja May 4, 2026 +5
Theatre tech?
5
MonkeyPanls May 4, 2026 +251
Yeah. It's called a QUEBEC flag. They were looking for free pratique. If they don't get it, a ship can either quarantine or try at another port. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pratique
251
firesticks May 4, 2026 +43
Interesting read (and subsequent rabbit hole). Thanks for sharing!
43
LimeLimpet 6 days ago +17
Nice to see a shoutout to plague ship Ruby Princess there, exactly the ship I was thinking of reading this article.
17
ChewyChagnuts May 4, 2026 +1064
The concern here is the usual incubation period. This isn’t from mice on the ship, the source is likely to be somewhere in South America. What doesn’t make sense, given knowledge about typical Hanta behaviour, is the on-board human to human transmission. Hence the concern on the part of Cape Verde.
1064
Syssareth May 4, 2026 +864
> What doesn’t make sense, given knowledge about typical Hanta behaviour, is the on-board human to human transmission. The Andean strain, from Argentina, [has been proven](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7101103/) to spread person to person. This ship disembarked from Argentina, so it's a distinct possibility.
864
mellolizard May 4, 2026 +402
Oh good, another pandemic is exactly what we need.
402
MagnusRottcodd May 4, 2026 +232
Hantavirus are nasty, but they are not contagious enough to start an epidemic. In Sweden we have a Hantasvirus that cause "sorkfeber" (lethality is about 0.5%). With up to 455 reported cases per year. [https://www.folkhalsomyndigheten.se/statistik-och-data/hitta-statistik-och-data/sorkfeber-statistik/](https://www.folkhalsomyndigheten.se/statistik-och-data/hitta-statistik-och-data/sorkfeber-statistik/) You can get it by breathing in dust from dried up rodent excrement, so it is virus that isn't easily destroyed. It can last for weeks outside a body.
232
TsuDhoNimh2 May 4, 2026 +66
The European and Asian hantavirus are more kidney-oriented. The North and South American ones do more lung damage and have a higher fatality rate. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puumala\_virus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puumala_virus)
66
Asaneth May 4, 2026 +172
The Andes Hantavirus has a 40% mortality rate if respiratory symptoms develop.
172
Ki-to-Life-5054 May 4, 2026 +40
Is that with or without treatment?
40
Syssareth May 4, 2026 +92
With (that number is about confirmed cases, meaning people who go on record as having had it, which usually means people who go to the hospital). AFAIK there's not really a treatment for it yet, just supportive care. That said, even in Argentina, there are only a couple hundred cases each year\*, so it's not like the flu. \*According to Wikipedia.
92
Nadamir May 4, 2026 +33
Not to mention, if you’re bleeding from every orifice, it’s really hard to claim “it’s just a bad cold”
33
lr99999 May 4, 2026 +9
Sounds comforting, unless you understand that their only job is to mutate.  
9
PeasantParticulars May 4, 2026 +20
It's ok, since 2019 we learned our lessons. We no longer allow corporations to buy healthcare providers or hospitals, we've strengthened healthcare worker protections and unions, we've started to fund medical schools to be able to train more doctors than ever before....
20
Jean-LucBacardi May 4, 2026 +46
I'll happily take the zero traffic again for my commute. Guess I'll get back out the sourdough starter.
46
woahwoahvicky May 4, 2026 +28
Yeah guess what that sourdough starter is alive and gonna start eating the planet soon
28
Ki-to-Life-5054 May 4, 2026 +6
Yeast organisms were winning back then.
6
statslady23 May 4, 2026 +77
Incubation is 1-8 weeks. It's a transatlantic cruise. How long have they been onboard?
77
sortaindignantdragon May 4, 2026 +99
Per the article, it was either a 33 night or 43 night cruise. First passenger died April 11th, wife died after leaving the ship with the body (third person with them isn't showing symptoms.) Another passenger fell ill at the end of April and got a medical evac to Johannesburg, where they were diagnosed with Hanta. Still alive, but critical condition. Third passenger just passed away, and two crewmembers are sick. Only one confirmed case of hantavirus so far.
99
statslady23 May 4, 2026 +26
Someone else said they boarded Mar. 4th. From what I read, death after symptoms usually occurs within a week. Normal onset from exposure is 9-40 days, but typically 2 weeks. We are looking at 3 weeks to death from exposure typically. 3 weeks would mean patient 1 contracted it on the ship, who died five weeks after embarking. So probably got it on the ship (or an excursion possibly) with a slight chance patient one was exposed before the cruise.  ETA: March 4th may be wrong. Could have been April 1, which changes the whole timeline. 
26
sortaindignantdragon May 4, 2026 +13
I'm curious about their source on March 4th, since I've read a few different articles, and the earliest estimate (which is from CNN and cites data from MarineTraffic) says they departed 7 weeks ago.
13
statslady23 May 4, 2026 +7
I think it was maybe April 1st. I found this interesting blog from one of their stops https://www.tristandc.com/shipping/news-2026-04-17-hondius.php
7
FadedFromWhite May 4, 2026 +28
1-8 weeks?! I don't know incubation periods but that seems long, especially for something this fatal
28
Asaneth May 4, 2026 +12
They've been on the ship since March 4th.
12
statslady23 May 4, 2026 +17
If March 4 embarkation: And the first guy died April 11th, so 5 weeks. Don't know when he first got sick, but he's 70, so it might have taken him quickly. Could have gotten it off the ship but probably on the ship I would think. Did they stop at any excursion areas that would have rodents I wonder.  ETA: If April 1 embarkation, was 10 days. Could have contracted it before or on the cruise. 
17
mogfir May 4, 2026 +6
Curious how this situation wil be handled. Antibody testing while medi-vacing folks? PCR testing? Or hold them in place like some ships did during COVID? I imagine some WHO folks and others will probably be on the ship to capture rodents for testing. Don’t want them going down the docklines and somehow making it endemic wherever they land.
6
tworaspberries May 4, 2026 +347
I've been there. Cape Verde is small and doesn't have the resources to handle an entire population outbreak. 
347
AcornWholio May 4, 2026 +238
I’m Cape Verdean and I have to say I am proud of how they are handling this. It may seem cruel to those who don’t understand, but as you mentioned, it’s a small group of islands with a ton of vulnerable populations without proper healthcare and government resources to handle something like this. They are doing what they can to keep the country safe, and I back that.
238
TsuDhoNimh2 May 4, 2026 +84
Basic disease control - don't let it in!
84
xeriscaped May 4, 2026 +58
The word "quarantine" has been used for hundreds of years as a nautical term for not letting infected ships dock. You are doing the right thing. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/quarantine
58
cookouttray722 May 4, 2026 +66
I’m in CV right now. Hell, they don’t have the resources to deal with normal medical emergencies, much less a lethal virus. Went by the water and took a picture of the ship. It’s a few hundred yards from the shore. Sorry to the people on there, but I’m glad they didn’t let you dock.
66
SlackerPop90 May 4, 2026 +34
They don't have the resources to prevent/treat the tourists that go there normally from getting sick (see the group lawsuit against TUI for loads of Britons getting sick and some dying from getting stuff like e-coli, shigella, salmonella, and cryptosporidium). So they definitely can't handle this.
34
WalkingEars May 4, 2026 +8
Unrelated to the news story but where did you go in Cape Verde? I spent two weeks there, mostly hiking on Santo Antao and I loved it. A little surprised to see it mentioned in a major news headline.
8
tworaspberries May 4, 2026 +6
We went to Sal. Stayed at the Hilton, which had just opened. Visited the sharks and salt flat. Laid on the beach. Amazing time
6
Real-Ad-1728 May 4, 2026 +85
Makes sense, they’re an island and can’t afford to f*** around when it comes to something this contagious and potentially deadly.
85
mendenlol May 4, 2026 +821
Do modern ships no longer employ cats?
821
JLZ13 May 4, 2026 +662
Most likely these people were infected in Argentina. Hanta is problem in the forest of Patagonia.
662
generic1234321 May 4, 2026 +334
Fun fact about Patagonia, it has a region with significant portion of people with Welsh ancestry and speak their own version of Welsh (Chubut). All because of an old Welsh settlers enclave. Their version of Welsh can be understood by Welsh speakers from Wales and vice versa
334
mendenlol May 4, 2026 +101
that **is** a fun fact! i love fun facts, thank you
101
generic1234321 May 4, 2026 +22
And most people just think of the Gilets/vests made by the company of the same name!
22
RedBarchetta1 May 4, 2026 +37
You are almost certainly likely to be correct. I read a bunch of stuff about this yesterday, including a couple of journal articles about the human-to-human hantavirus outbreaks in Epuyen, Argentina a few years ago, and I think this story is being reported in a way that is a little misleading (not saying there’s a conspiracy or anything, just that reporters are lazy and have to write easy to understand headlines for the general public). I’m not trying to fear monger or anything as I doubt the authorities even have all the facts of the situation yet, BUT…in my opinion, I suspect one or more of the travelers who boarded the ship at Ushuaia (maybe the older couple who succumbed first) brought hantavirus onboard with them that they picked up in Patagonia, and subsequently transmitted it H2H to others on board. —Typically hantavirus can only be transmitted to people via airborne rodent droppings, but southern Argentina happens to be one of the few (the only?) places in the world where a hantavirus strain exists that has been shown to be transmitted directly between humans with an ~R2 transmission rate (and as a fun bonus the fatality rate of this strain is between 30%-50%). The paper I read about the Epuyen outbreak did not specifically suggest method of transmission, but some of the people infected had pretty minimal contact with others (sitting next to someone on a bus, for example). —The ship in question is not a traditional huge cruise ship but apparently a smaller “luxury” polar expedition ship. Because they travel to fragile ecosystems, they are required to carefully mind what kinds of biological elements they are traveling with. I’m not saying it’s impossible, for example, that a rat snuck ashore in Ushuaia, but seems to me highly unlikely that this particular ship has such a major rodent infestation that it infected multiple passengers. —Hantavirus has a long incubation period - between 1-8 weeks. Whoever had it first definitely could have been unknowingly harboring it for multiple weeks before succumbing, and also infecting other passengers at some point along the way. It was reported that the first guy was taken off and died at St. Helena and then others got sick a week or more later on the way to Africa. So I’m honestly not completely surprised that this ship is being refused docking - they’re probably trying to rule out the h2h transmission angle before allowing them to leave (as they should - imagine a 30% fatality H2H airborne disease escaping into Africa…no bueno!)
37
rationalomega May 4, 2026 +14
The 8 week incubation time on hanta viruses is terrifying. We once improperly cleaned mouse droppings, then learned about hanta virus, then worried about orphaning our son for two months.
14
statslady23 May 4, 2026 +20
When did the ship leave Argentina? I read the Andes strain has an incubation of 1-8 weeks. 
20
Asaneth May 4, 2026 +16
March 4th, so it's now been appx 8 weeks.
16
OutlyingPlasma May 4, 2026 +260
> Most likely... infected in Argentina. If I had to guess it was the food. They likely took on contaminated food stores in Argentina from god knows what under-regulated source. It's almost like the FDA is a good thing and shouldn't be slashed to nothing.
260
[deleted] May 4, 2026 +83
[deleted]
83
ukexpat May 4, 2026 +17
Expert on the BBC this morning said there is evidence that some strains can be spread human to human via bodily fluids.
17
mogfir May 4, 2026 +13
Andes Hanta has shown some person to person transmission. Given most are pulmonary in nature, someone coughing becomes a big problem. No idea what the necessary infectious dose for Hanta would be.
13
mishap1 May 4, 2026 +174
You say that and RFK Jr is ready to add rat feces to the food pyramid to promote a complete diet.
174
3BlindMice1 May 4, 2026 +32
And he's strangely fond of worms, that guy
32
Ki-to-Life-5054 May 4, 2026 +21
The worm is steering.
21
Bupod May 4, 2026 +9
Don’t forget the Racoon penises. Those have a special place in his heart.
9
3BlindMice1 May 4, 2026 +7
Probably counts as an honorary worm in his book
7
JLZ13 May 4, 2026 +22
>If I had to guess it was the food. They likely took on contaminated food stores in Argentina from god knows what under-regulated source. With that logic the whole area would be infected. Not just the ship. Local are very aware of Hanta. Tourist not so much.
22
thevillewrx May 4, 2026 +7
Doesnt it take weeks for symptoms to manifest?
7
donkeyrocket May 4, 2026 +13
It's a really broad range. Initial symptoms can be as early as 3-4 days from exposure but it can be up to 8 weeks. Pretty rough situation for those onboard and this could be a ticking timebomb with a full blown outbreak. Makes sense that no port is willing to take in these passengers. Only slight upside is this isn't one of those mega cruises so hopefully it's a slighter easier situation to address.
13
5kyl3r May 4, 2026 +29
laws and regulations are almost always written in blood i know a lot of libertarians just chose it because it feels like the only thing in between conservative and liberal, but it's still just dumb as the full conservative end of the scale. deregulation hurts the citizens/consumers. they posture it like it being a huge crushing burden on the companies, but most of the time it's just simple stuff like "place warning signage", and they swear it's killing businesses voting conservative in today's world is basically giving tax breaks to the mega corporations that don't give a sh*t about people, and to make them even happier, deregulating. it's so crazy how success they've been for so long at convincing people to vote against their own best interests with psychology
29
bianary May 4, 2026 +6
> they posture it like it being a huge crushing burden on the companies The fun part is, if there's money to be made then the companies will do so after voluntarily taking on those burdens if they can't avoid them. Even the few highly regulated places (Like auto insurance) have constant new companies trying to break into the market and competition among the existing ones. Even with their "crushing burdens".
6
TheChemist-25 May 4, 2026 +19
The FDA is actually kind of shit at regulating food. They spend most of their time and money on the drug part of regulation. However the USDA which is responsible for meat and dairy is very good at regulating food. This is why, you are much more likely to get a food borne illness from lettuce than from milk in the US
19
Jumpingyros May 4, 2026 +187
Having free roaming cats on cruise ships would be pretty sick actually. But no, they don’t. It would be unsafe for the cats for a multitude of reasons.  Also the chances that this was contracted on the ship are slim to none. Hantavirus has an incubation period of up to 8 weeks (or just straight up 8 weeks depending on the version) and people started getting sick 3 weeks into the cruise. It was almost certainly contracted before they boarded. It’s possible that this is the insanely rare strain that can be transmitted person to person, but even in that case patient zero most likely was exposed on shore. Like anything is possible, but the odds are not in favor of a multi-year buildup on mouse feces on a cruise ship. 
187
GraphicDesignMonkey May 4, 2026 +107
The fact that both passengers AND crew members are affected, means it's extremely likely the infection originated on the ship and not beforehand. My guess is some food got contaminated by rodents.
107
Four_beastlings May 4, 2026 +43
Not if it's the variant that transmits from person to person. Guess who has to clean up after and take care of the sick passengers?
43
HighwayBrigand May 4, 2026 +37
The ... the rats?
37
Franks2000inchTV May 4, 2026 +15
Ratatouille 2 was an unfortunate departure from the formula that made the first one so successful.
15
S7ageNinja May 4, 2026 +10
No cruise ship that I know of has cats on board. I worked on one that had kennels for guests dogs though. Years before I started they also had tigers in one of their stage shows. Probably not super useful for catching rats though.
10
the_blanker May 4, 2026 +35
With all the toxoplasmosis going around?!
35
rebar_mo May 4, 2026 +26
Well in that case, rat terriers.
26
Defiant-Peace-493 May 4, 2026 +12
Believe it or not, rabies.
12
MooPig48 May 4, 2026 +6
If only there was some sort of vaccine for that!
6
DrGoblinator May 4, 2026 +5
I’ll just put my little mini schnauzer on there, boom, they’ll all be gone.
5
Braided_Marxist May 4, 2026 +37
I’ll take toxoplasmosis over hantavirus lol
37
zffjk May 4, 2026 +191
Have they tried sinking the ship temporarily?
191
rebar_mo May 4, 2026 +69
Rodents can swim. Sandy didn't drown all the rats in NYC.
69
pyronius May 4, 2026 +30
Living in New Orleans, I often tell my wife that this was *their* land first.
30
wongo May 4, 2026 +14
Rats probably evolved in SE Asia and spread to the Americas with European colonization The first humans along the Gulf Coast had several thousand rat-free years, fortunately for them
14
rebar_mo May 4, 2026 +16
I don't know if you've seen a nutria but while they aren't native (technically rats aren't either) they act like they were here since mammoths roamed the earth. They look like an abomination offspring of a beaver and rat. They are the size NYC rats THINK they are.
16
East_Hedgehog6039 May 4, 2026 +12
turning it off and back on again?
12
Chrono_Convoy May 4, 2026 +2234
And my wife wonders why I refuse to go on cruises Remember the cruise ship (Diamond Princess) that had Covid off Japan? Or the Carnival Triumph engine blowout that stranded 4k passengers (Netflix Poo Cruise Doc)? Or the time Tom Cruise jumped on Oprah’s sofa? As a sofa salesman I just keep seeing those black dress shoes rain blows on the upholstery and it’s too hard for my heart to take.
2234
Not_Lisa May 4, 2026 +434
Worked as an EMT when they told us they were bringing the passengers of the princess cruise ship to one of the local Air Force bases. They had us stationed outside their hotel. I’ll never forget just watching them outside this building, fencing all around the building, mildly searching through the luggage that was brought there. Absolutely crazy. I still feel bad for them. That killed the idea of cruising for me.
434
badasimo May 4, 2026 +205
What's messed up about that is that the officials escorting them were barely using PPE. Should have been in moon suits but that would have REALLY freaked everyone out.
205
the_honest_liar May 4, 2026 +95
Iirc, they didn't think it was airborne at the time.
95
freetraitor33 May 4, 2026 +154
Humans: we have exactly zero information about this hazard. let’s be lazy and take no precautions whatsoever. I thought zombie movies were dumb until covid. Turns out they hit the nail on the head.
154
totomaya May 4, 2026 +43
I read World War Z during COVID which is still amazing book, but it's hilarious that it came to the exact wrong conclusion about a pandemic (that private corporations would lock in and offer actual solutions due to freer movement and ability to mobilize creatives while governments were too overloaded with bureaucracy and slow to react).
43
palcatraz May 4, 2026 +30
The companies in World War Z didn't offer actual solutions though. The whole point was that the vaccine they offered didn't work (and they knew it didn't work)
30
Gekokapowco May 4, 2026 +9
right there is where you can see the libertarian fantasy break down lol rugged individualists will never be seen as heroes, nor will they ever try to be. Heroism is never more financially profitable.
9
valleyofthefourwinds May 4, 2026 +6
Honestly I don't think the book came to that conclusion at all. If anything in many ways it was the opposite - the main example of private corporations in that book was the billionaire who made the fake vaccine exploiting the crisis, showed zero remorse after the war was over for the harm he caused, and was living in an antarctic biodome. > For what? For making a little f**kin’ cash…well, not a little [giggles]. All I did was what any of us are ever supposed to do. I chased my dream, and I got my slice. You wanna blame someone, blame whoever first called it rabies, or who knew it wasn’t rabies and gave us the green light anyway. Shit, you wanna blame someone, why not start with all the sheep who forked over their greenbacks without bothering to do a little responsible research. I never held a gun to their heads. They made the choice themselves. They’re the bad guys, not me. I never directly hurt anybody, and if anybody was too stupid to get themselves hurt, boo-fuckin-hoo The book does talk a lot about government bureaucracy in a much more robust way, including lack of responsiveness and control during the initial phases and the initial attempts to stop it, but also the initiatives to support isolated posts when things were at their worst, the broader strategic decisions on a societal level, as well as the organization and logistics in the eventual mobilization, reclamation, and victories. My summary is a disservice to how robust the coverage of government involvement was, particularly because it contrasted the responses of many different countries.
6
jackSeamus May 4, 2026 +29
I was a first rounder in the US thanks to traveling so much in the winter of 2019-2020. I was already wearing a mask then (albeit only a surgical mask), always washed my hands for at least 20 seconds, etc, but still got it (probably due to the mask not being the right rating or worn correctly). Once news started to break in late Feb/early March, my coworker insisted she was fine because she was a thorough hand washer. She touted this multiple times to me while I was fighting a fever and delirium. I wonder if she ever came to the understanding it could be transmitted through aerosolized particles?
29
Iskendarian May 4, 2026 +6
Right, but once those aerosolized particles land on your hands, you just wash them off.
6
jackSeamus May 4, 2026 +4
Works great if you don't also inhale them.
4
ConfessSomeMeow May 4, 2026 +6
It's still not considered airborne by the standard definition of airborne (transmitted by particles that remain aloft indefinitely without the aid of circulating air). That doesn't mean they shouldn't have worn better PPE.
6
Weapon54x May 4, 2026 +58
People forget that plenty of cruises come and go with no issues. We don’t hear about those because there is nothing to write about. We just heard the bad ones.
58
Charlie_Mouse May 4, 2026 +23
There were 16 outbreaks of gastrointestinal illness on cruises that met the CDC's threshold for public notification in 2025, most of which were caused by norovirus. There were 18 outbreaks in all of 2024, and 14 the year prior. I realise the number of cruises is far higher (I believe there are around 300 cruse ships in the world) but that’s still quite a few - and that’s before taking into consideration all the Covid cruises a couple of years before that. They’re pretty much the ideal enclosed environment for anything even mildly infectious to spread and if you ruin that many people’s expensive holidays (let alone kill them) people are going to take note.
23
[deleted] May 4, 2026 +48
[deleted]
48
ZubatCountry May 4, 2026 +30
That's literally everything though Driving, flying, eating, owning a pet
30
cross_the_threshold May 4, 2026 +16
You can burn to death in your own home, risks are a part of life the question is what level of risk is acceptable for whatever it is that you're doing. I guarantee you a hell of a lot more people are WAY more willing to get into a vehicle and drive than they should be, but humans are really bad at risk assessment.
16
Chrono_Convoy May 4, 2026 +18
Did they have couches at the base? If so how were the couches treated?
18
TorrenceMightingale May 4, 2026 +26
They’ve been visited by JD.
26
KingDarius89 May 4, 2026 +11
Hi jd.
11
Chrono_Convoy May 4, 2026 +7
Not I. There are some people I refuse to sell couches to
7
Spunge14 May 4, 2026 +140
A close friend of mine at work had parents on one of the COVID cruises that Trump prevented from docking. Her father died on that ship.
140
Chrono_Convoy May 4, 2026 +45
That’s terrible :/
45
ganymede_boy May 4, 2026 +28
Ugh, that sucks. And still today there are idiotic conservatives who swear Covid was a hoax and it was no more dangerous than the regular flu.
28
Spunge14 May 4, 2026 +41
I don't know man. I lost two relatives to COVID - my Uncle and his 40 year old son. Sometimes I'll talk to conservatives and they'll be like "yea my family died too but it was still a hoax." There's a lot of cognitive dissonance.
41
Pratt2 May 4, 2026 +97
The chance your cruise has a CDC-reportable disease outbreak is less than 0.5%. The chance you will personally get sick is a small fraction of that. The actual IRL numbers I'm looking at show 156 outbreaks out of 37,276 voyage reports. You might as well not leave your house, just to be safe.
97
Chrono_Convoy May 4, 2026 +41
Right. Plus Tom Cruise is a probability too
41
InsaneBrew May 4, 2026 +5
Greater than zero, but barely.
5
[deleted] May 4, 2026 +39
[removed]
39
[deleted] May 4, 2026 +41
[removed]
41
FedorByChoke May 4, 2026 +21
> Or the Carnival Triumph engine blowout that stranded 4k passengers (Netflix Poop Cruise Doc)? I went on the second cruise after it had been cleaned and retrofitted and it was the cleanest and most well oiled machine. The crew were overly on top of things and everything was basically new. We had a good time.
21
IncidentSome4403 May 4, 2026 +251
Between this and seeing what happened with the diamond princess and the poop cruise, I think I am good on ever stepping foot on one of these floating Petri dishes.
251
Jean-LucBacardi May 4, 2026 +28
Which is wild because around 2010 I went on a shit load and no one ever got sick. Now it seems Noravirus is the real f***** that keeps getting everyone sick.
28
damselindetech May 4, 2026 +43
You can likely thank the enshittification process. Cruise lines likely are doing what most other service industries are and cutting cleaning and support staff back to bare bones to increase profits because a few extra $ are worth more than making sure you dont sicken your customers
43
Serious_Dot4984 May 4, 2026 +13
And people also seem just shittier and less considerate
13
ScrotalSmorgasbord May 4, 2026 +45
Yikes, Hanta virus scares the shit out of me from my time stationed in the desert and all the warnings about how there's no cure/treatment and how high the lethality is. Used to tripple up on face coverings when the sandstorms blew through, although idk how effective that was considering everything was constantly coated in a thin layer of sand and rodent shit at all times.
45
Kurtotall May 4, 2026 +22
I’ve seen this movie before. It stinks.
22
Magnahelix 6 days ago +39
You mean, it's been...dock blocked? I'll see myself out.
39
lala4now 6 days ago +16
This is a far more deadly virus than covid. That entire ship should be quarantined as long as necessary to ensure it doesn't spread.
16
Anxious_Biscuit13 May 4, 2026 +15
Another reason to never go on a cruise.
15
Both_Lychee_1708 May 4, 2026 +25
The first Cruise where people just wished they got the traditional norovirus
25
Kamila95 May 4, 2026 +9
I am currently in Cape Verde so this is great news to me.
9
problematicgecko May 4, 2026 +21
My aunt was on the “poop cruise”, the one they made a netflix documentary about. After her experience I never wanted to go on a cruise & I never will 🤣
21
KingDarius89 May 4, 2026 +34
Hentavirus is what Gene Hackman's wife died of.
34
DB473 6 days ago +15
I found a few mice/possible roof rats in the house a couple years back. Successfully caught two in traps. It wasn’t until after finding the first that I actually paid close attention to all the little details that gave them away. Torn up bits of carpet in the corner of the bedrooms. Scratches/tiny chips of wood near some doorframes. Then after closer inspection, finding the trails of droppings. Everywhere; kitchen cabinets, closet, behind the bed, *in the dressers*. Deep cleaned every nook and cranny, it took a solid 2 days of cleaning. I was convinced the whole time myself and my wife and daughter were going to die of hantavirus or plague. So this article just reaffirmed that fear of me
15
qowww May 4, 2026 +6
Hmmmm where have I seen this before? 2019 anyone?
6
wiredhands 6 days ago +9
Plague ship requesting plague clearance
9
DMarvelous4L May 4, 2026 +12
What the hell. I’m in Cape Verde right now and I had no idea this cruise ship was anywhere around here.
12
NippleSalsa May 4, 2026 +6
Flying Dutchman ass ship
6
360walkaway May 4, 2026 +8
How many days until there are pineapples hanging from peoples' doors?
8
NinaSadisticPuddle May 4, 2026 +17
They seriously offloaded sick passengers to South Africa? Really? You have GOT to be shitting me! So, they spread it onshore? Awesome. Great idea! Why is that ship not isolated? Keep the entire mess in South Africa. It would not surprise me if they sent passengers home by plane. Lol. Use antibacterial hand sanitizer. It’s ok. Who wants lunch???😉
17
[deleted] 6 days ago +17
[removed]
17
NinaSadisticPuddle 6 days ago +9
I do not mean to be an a******, but…..i am probably that chick, on the other side of the glass, that sees contagion, and shuts and locks the door. Just me. Sorry. Don’t come for me. I have three kids. 😂
9
FlyingFlipPhone May 4, 2026 +16
The good news.... your cruise is extended indefinitely!
16
Coup-de-Glass May 4, 2026 +31
Epidemiologist here. Hanta is rarely transmitted person to person. Rodents are common vectors. I won’t willingly get on a ship. Ever.
31
____Manifest____ 6 days ago +8
What would an epidemiologist say about the Andean hantavirus?
8
stjack1981 May 4, 2026 +8
That's usually spread by rat piss, so awesome cruise ship you got there
8
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