After three people died during a hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship crossing the Atlantic, a global health expert warned that “more cases will arise” of the fatal virus that killed Gene Hackman’s wife in February 2024.

On April 2, the Dutch expedition vessel MV Hondius left Ushuaia, Argentina, carrying 147 passengers and crew. But along the way, several passengers fell ill with a “rapidly progressing respiratory illness,” CNN reports.

In early May, the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed it as hantavirus – the same virus that killed 65-year-old Betsy Arakawa Hackman in early 2025.

“As of 4 May 2026, seven cases (two laboratory confirmed cases of hantavirus and five suspected cases) have been identified, including three deaths, one critically ill patient and three individuals reporting mild symptoms” the WHO reports.

What is hantavirus?
According to the Mayo Clinic, hantavirus infections can lead to hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) or hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS), both of which can become life-threatening without treatment.

The virus is typically linked to contact with infected rodents, including their urine, droppings, or saliva. In some cases, those particles can become airborne, allowing exposure without direct contact – something that adds another layer of concern in a contained environment like a ship.

The situation has left passengers shaken, not only because of the loss but because of what may still be unfolding around them.

‘A lot of uncertainty’
Online, some of those on board have shared glimpses of life during the crisis. Jake Rosmarin, a travel influencer with about 50,000 followers on Facebook and Instagram, shared a video on May 4, explaining the uncertainty.

“We’re not just a story, we’re not just headlines. We’re people with families, with lives, with people waiting for us at home,” Rosmarin told his audience.

“There’s a lot of uncertainty and that’s the hardest part. All we want right now is to feel safe, to have clarity and to get home.”

Concern has grown with each passing day, especially as the ship remains far from the kind of medical infrastructure needed to handle severe cases. One individual has already been transferred to a medical facility in South Africa for intensive care, while efforts are underway to evacuate two more symptomatic passengers.

‘Very dangerous situation’
Now, health experts warn that timeline of the virus leaves room for additional cases to emerge.

“It is a very dangerous situation for cruise ship passengers. I would be worried because the incubation period for hantavirus can be up to a week,” Larry Gostin, Director of the WHO Collaborating Center on Global Health Law, told Sky News.

“It’s possible that more cases will arise, and it’s uncertain at this stage what preventive and precaution measures the cruise ship undertook,” the health expert admitted.

‘Extraordinarily serious’
He explained that both forms – HPS and HFRS – are “extraordinarily serious. It’s not easily spread from person to person.”

The virus is most often linked to contact with infected rodents, particularly their urine, droppings, or saliva. In some cases, those particles can become airborne, meaning e

While hantavirus is not easily spread between people, exposure can happen without direct contact – an added concern in a contained environment like a ship.

“The mode of transmission is really through exposure to the rodent droppings or their urine, or those droppings can be disturbed, and they go in the air and you can breathe it in and get it,” he said.

In other words, exposure can happen without warning, and without direct contact.

“There’s no antiviral or so-called cure, but you need really intense management of the disease.

“You need to get somebody into really intensive care quite quickly – this is something that really shouldn’t happen on a properly sanitized and hygienic ship,” Gostin explained.

Fatal virus
Treatment options remain limited, as there is no specific antiviral cure for hantavirus, meaning severe cases often depend on intensive medical support, especially once breathing becomes compromised. That progression can turn critical quickly, and health data shows that around 38% of patients who develop serious respiratory complications from hantavirus pulmonary syndrome do not survive.

With several passengers still under observation and the incubation period not yet fully passed, health authorities continue to monitor the situation closely as the ship moves through the Atlantic.

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