90-Second Read: What did we learn from the Hantavirus cruise ship scare?

As the Hantavirus scare comes to an end with the last cruise ship passengers set to leave quarantine, what did the world learn from this sudden outbreak of a previously little-known virus? There were no further deaths during the outbreak -- and all 12 confirmed Hantavirus cases were passengers on the ship. The 12 confirmed cases -- and another considered likely -- pale in comparison to the tens of thousands of Hantavirus infections recorded worldwide every year. The deaths of three people who had been onboard the MV Hondius sparked a global health alert in early May, prompting fears the ship's many international passengers could spread the rodent-borne disease across the world.

The concerning factor about the cruise ship outbreak was that the virus was transmitted between humans. The Andes strain that spread on the ship is the only form of Hantavirus known to do this, however documented outbreaks have been very rare. With memories lingering of the Covid-19 pandemic, some countries swiftly enforced a strict six-week quarantine for the ship's passengers and contact cases. Many nations responded by putting the passengers and contact cases in quarantine or isolation for the disease's six-week incubation period.

Given the incubation period for the virus has passed, "the episode can likely be considered over," Nicole Tischler, president of the International Society of Hantaviruses, told AFP. This raised the spectre that the nearly 150 people on the ship could spread the disease in their home countries. This was evidence that the risk of transmitting Hantavirus between humans remains "low," he added. The sudden global spotlight on Hantavirus has however spurred some progress in understanding the virus, for which there is no treatment.

Almost all the passengers of the Dutch-flagged ship quarantined in the Netherlands have been allowed to return home, the World Health Organization said on Thursday. The event highlighted how little is known about the precise timing of infectiousness; specifically whether transmission occurs only after symptom onset or may begin in the days beforehand. She hoped more would be revealed about how the infected people came in contact on the ship.