Less than two months ago, a cruise ship departed from Ushuaia, Argentina. It was supposed to be a normal cruise with a winding path through the South Atlantic and an end destination at Cape Verde. However, the ship did not dock at Cape Verde on May 2; it was denied entry due to an outbreak of a hantavirus onboard.
Hantaviruses are a family of viruses that are found in some mammals, most often rodents. The virus can be contracted by humans if they come into contact with the secretions, such as saliva, urine, and droppings of rats1. The viruses can cause other diseases in humans, such as one symptomatic form called “hantavirus pulmonary syndrome” (HPS)2 and “hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome” (HFRS). Some of the early symptoms of HPS in humans are fatigue, fever, and muscle aches, while some patients also report experiencing headaches, dizziness, chills, and abdominal issues such as vomiting and abdominal pain. With the progression of the disease, infected patients may enter the respiratory phase of HPS and experience symptoms of coughing, shortness of breath, and fluid in the lungs. This respiratory phase of HPS can be deadly2. HFRS is one of the other diseases caused by hantavirus and involves headaches, back and abdominal pain, fever, nausea, and blurred vision, with later symptoms including low blood pressure, lack of blood flow, internal bleeding, and kidney failure)2. As with many viruses, patients may not experience all of the aforementioned symptoms or may experience them to varying degrees of severity. Additionally, an infected person may display symptoms of one disease but not the other.
As of now, doctors and scientists are only aware of one hantavirus that can be passed between humans: The Andes Virus strain. This is the hantavirus that doctors believe infected the passengers on the cruise ship. However, is there really a cause for mass concern or panic about a new pandemic or dangerous disease?
Dr. Chase McNeil, an infectious disease doctor in Houston, sheds some light on the minimal danger of this hantavirus “outbreak”.
“I don’t want to tell people whether they’re allowed to be scared because they’re human and they’re allowed to feel things. But I think this is a situation where you don’t need to panic.” McNeil claims. “You know, human-to-human transmission is pretty rare. Even with the Andes virus, that [human-to-human transmission] doesn’t seem to be the primary mode of transmission [for the virus].
Viruses spread by hijacking their hosts’ cells[6.1]. In McNeil’s words, “viruses attach themselves to a cell, and then they inject their genetic material into the cell and use its own kind of cellular machinery, such as ribosomes, to replicate.” Viruses are a type of infectious agent that requires a host cell to survive due to the described process. However, most viruses prefer specific types of hosts over others. For hantavirus, the preferred host is mammals, specifically rodents. While the Andes Virus can infect humans as well, humans are not its preferred host, and therefore it is less likely to spread amongst humans as opposed to being passed on by rats. This factor is different from the last pandemic, COVID-19, in that COVID-19 spread very quickly amongst humans and was therefore able to mutate very quickly, as well. The fast transmission rate of COVID was part of what made it so dangerous and what led to the pandemic. However, as the hantavirus is unlikely to follow COVID’s pattern of speedy transmission, there is less cause for concern for the hantavirus.
Furthermore, experts, such as McNeil and Jorge Salinas, the medical director of infection prevention at Stanford Health Care, believe that the hantavirus only spreads among humans once the infected individual is symptomatic. Salinas explained this in an article by Sarah Williams for the Stanford Medicine News Center on May 12, 2026. This characteristic of hantavirus transmission significantly differs from the COVID-19 transmission method. Part of what made COVID so dangerous and able to spread so quickly was the fact that people could be infected with COVID, show no symptoms, and therefore not be diagnosed with the virus, and still infect others while remaining asymptomatic. This made it hard to isolate the virus and track down infected patients to limit its spread. However, if the hantavirus can only be spread once someone is symptomatic, it will be easier to contain and quarantine.
Additionally, there may be more fear around the hantavirus than is necessary due to the role of social media in the spreading of information about the virus. McNeil offers insight into the way social media spreads medical information.
“I think that you have to be mindful of the sources you’re using and kind of ask yourself, you know, is this a reputable source of information or is this a person I feel I can trust. Sometimes that’s hard.” Oftentimes, social media sites use grab factors, such as disasters or potentially dangerous events, to maintain views. Additionally, they use the confirmation bias of their viewers to garner attention for their site. With the hantavirus, the confirmation bias comes from the COVID-19 pandemic. However, as previously mentioned, there are key differences between hantavirus and COVID that are important to note when comparing the two viruses. For this reason, social media viewers should be careful with what information they take in on their platforms and who they get it from. Medical experts and medical sites tend to have more accurate information than some social media personas, who get information that has already been distorted from the sharing of information across platforms.
McNeil also goes on to say that one of the worst things people can do right now, around the hantavirus or information they hear online, is to panic. “I think you can be aware of it, be mindful of it, but, you know, don’t panic. And if you’re in a situation where you’re going to have to clean out rodent droppings -I think even then your risk of hantavirus is very low- it’s still a good idea to wear gloves or a mask anyway.”
The information that is available regarding hantavirus, and specifically the “outbreak” on the cruise ship, is still evolving. However, McNeil does advise the following if one comes in contact with someone who has been infected with hantavirus or if there are concerns about contracting the virus: “Keep in mind that the risk of contracting this [virus] is low. But if you’re doing the usual things, if you’re feeling unwell, stay at home, consider contacting your doctor, wash your hands, don’t share food and drink…Things might change, but I think at this stage, there’s not a tremendous reason to panic.” This suggestion follows along the lines of preventative care for other illnesses, such as the flu, COVID, or even the common cold.
Overall, hantavirus does not seem to present a huge threat to humans currently. The instance on the boat, as with a lot of viruses, was a case where people who were infected were in close contact with other people for an extended period of time. If you are still nervous about potentially contracting hantavirus, make sure you wear proper protective equipment when handling rodents, stay at home if you feel unwell, and practice sanitary measures, such as washing your hands, not sharing food and drink, and masking up if you feel the need to. Be careful where you get your information from and try to look at sites that have been medically reviewed or talk to a medical expert, such as a doctor or scientist.
1“2026 Multi-Country Hantavirus Cluster Linked to Cruise Ship.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 8 May 2026, www.cdc.gov/han/php/notices/han00528.html. Accessed 27 May 2026.
2“About Hantavirus.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 13 May 2024, www.cdc.gov/hantavirus/about/index.html. Accessed 27 May 2026.
