Three King County residents are now under public health surveillance following potential exposure to the Andes hantavirus, the strain at the centre of a deadly outbreak aboard the MV Hondius expedition cruise ship that has killed three people and infected nine others across multiple countries.
Two of the King County residents were seated near a passenger who was later confirmed to have contracted the virus during a commercial flight, before that individual was removed from travel and tested positive. The proximity of their seating raised sufficient concern for public health officials to initiate monitoring. A third King County resident was on board the MV Hondius itself during the voyage and has been transferred to the national quarantine centre at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, where they are being monitored alongside other American passengers from the ship. All three individuals are currently asymptomatic, and none have shown signs of illness since their potential exposure.
Public Health Seattle and King County confirmed the surveillance measures on Tuesday and emphasised that the risk to the broader public remains low. The Andes hantavirus is the only known strain of the virus capable of human-to-human transmission, a characteristic that distinguishes it from other hantavirus variants and is central to why international health authorities are taking the outbreak seriously. However, officials noted that such transmission typically requires prolonged and close contact with an infected person, meaning brief or incidental exposure carries a significantly lower risk of infection.
The MV Hondius, a Dutch-flagged expedition cruise ship operated by Oceanwide Expeditions, departed Ushuaia in southern Argentina on 1 April. The outbreak first came to public attention when three passengers died over the course of several weeks and a British national was medically evacuated to a hospital in Johannesburg, South Africa, where he was placed in intensive care after testing positive for a variant of the Andes virus. As Seattle Today previously reported, the ship was left anchored off the coast of Cape Verde for several days as local authorities refused to allow passengers to disembark, before the vessel eventually made its way toward the Canary Islands.
The outbreak has triggered international monitoring efforts in multiple countries including Canada, France, and Australia, as health authorities work to identify and assess anyone who may have had direct or indirect contact with infected passengers during the voyage or on subsequent connecting flights. The World Health Organisation has said it is engaged and monitoring the situation, while continuing to stress that the risk to the general public outside of direct contact scenarios remains low.
For King County residents who believe they may have been on the same flight as an infected MV Hondius passenger, Public Health Seattle and King County is asking anyone with concerns to contact them directly through their public health hotline.
