Key Facts

• The hantavirus found on the MV Hondius cruise ship is a rare form called the Andes strain, which can spread from person to person.
• Twelve countries, including the U.S., Canada, the U.K., and Germany, are monitoring people who left the cruise ship early.
• Three people who were on the cruise have died: a Dutch couple and a German woman.
• Some passengers, including Americans, disembarked on the remote island of Saint Helena and returned home before the virus was confirmed.
• Two residents in Georgia and one in Virginia, plus several in California, are being watched for symptoms but are currently healthy.
• The Dutch man who died on board was not tested for hantavirus because his symptoms were mistaken for other respiratory diseases.
• Close and prolonged contact, like within households or between caregivers, is how the virus can spread between people.
• The World Health Organization and health authorities consider the risk of a large outbreak low because hantavirus does not spread like flu or COVID-19.