A woman who survived hantavirus has spoken out about the terrifying reality of the disease amid an outbreak on the Dutch cruise ship MV Hondius, which has so far claimed the lives of three people.
Hantavirus refers to a group of viruses carried by mice and rats, and is transmitted through their droppings and urine, although human-to-human spread is rare.
Earlier this week, the MV Hondius cruise ship made global headlines after it was revealed that three passengers had died following infection with the disease. The ship is currently located off the coast of Cape Verde, and authorities are refusing to allow anyone to disembark.
Nearly 150 passengers and crew members remain stranded on the vessel, while multiple suspected cases have been identified.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus wrote on X on Wednesday: “Three suspected hantavirus case patients have just been evacuated from the ship and are on their way to receive medical care in the Netherlands in coordination with WHO, the ship’s operator and national authorities from Cabo Verde, the United Kingdom, Spain, and the Netherlands.”
He added: “WHO continues to work with the ship’s operators to closely monitor the health of passengers and crew, working with countries to support appropriate medical follow-up and evacuation where needed. Monitoring and follow-up for passengers on board and for those who have already disembarked has been initiated in collaboration with the ship’s operators and national health authorities. WHO thanks all those involved. At this stage, the overall public health risk remains low.”
As fears grow online that the outbreak could resemble the early stages of Covid-19, WHO epidemiologist Maria Van Kerkhove pushed back on comparisons during a recent press conference. “This is not the next Covid, but it is a serious infectious disease. If people get infected, and infections are uncommon, they can die. People on the ship who are hearing this are very scared, rightly so,” she said, according to ABC News.
“The general public might be scared as well. Accurate information is critical. Knowing what your actual exposure might be – most people will never be exposed to this.”
While it is not the next Covid, hantavirus strains can still cause severe illness in those infected.
Reports say American strains of hantavirus can lead to Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS), which affects the lungs and heart. The WHO notes that the fatality rate in such cases ranges between 20 and 40 percent.
Debbie Zipperian, from Montana, entered an old chicken coop on her ranch in 2011 to collect her cat’s food dishes.
She was inside for less than five minutes, but it was enough time to inhale dust contaminated with rodent droppings carrying hantavirus.
“My face was this close to it,” she told KPAX-TV in 2018.
About a week later, Debbie began experiencing back pain, extreme fatigue, and severe neck pain. After multiple hospital visits, she was diagnosed with HPS. Her condition quickly worsened, and she suffered hallucinations, confusion, and respiratory failure in hospital.
“I flat-lined twice,” she said, adding that doctors struggled to place her on a ventilator because she was highly stressed and difficult to sedate.
Her late husband said she became “hysterical like a rabid bobcat.”
Debbie eventually regained consciousness after a week in hospital, but the virus left lasting spinal and neurological damage. She had to relearn how to walk, and as of 2018, she continued to struggle with memory and concentration.
