The Andes strain of hantavirus linked to the deadly outbreak aboard the MV Hondius cruise ship may pose a longer-term risk than many realize.
As health officials continue monitoring the rare virus cluster tied to the MV Hondius cruise ship, researchers are pointing to evidence suggesting the disease could remain transmissible for years – through sexual contact.
Hantavirus is typically transmitted through exposure to rodents, including contact with urine, feces, saliva, or airborne particles from dried droppings.The Andes strain is one of the few versions known to spread between humans in rare cases.
According to the WHO, “HCPS has a high case fatality rate, commonly between 20% and 40%, making it a disease of major public health concern.”
The outbreak aboard the ship was first reported in early May and has since claimed three lives. Now, experts are highlighting previous research showing the virus may linger in the male reproductive system long after it disappears from the rest of the body.
In a peer-reviewed study published in the journal Viruses, researchers from Switzerland’s Spiez Laboratory examined a 55-year-old man who had contracted the Andes strain six years earlier. Although the virus was no longer detectable in other bodily systems, they still found traces of hantavirus in his semen, according to the New York Post.
The team concluded the virus may remain potentially transmissible for up to nearly six years after infection.
“Andes virus has the potential for sexual transmission”
According to researchers, at least 27 infectious diseases are capable of persisting in the testes.
“Taken together, our results show that the Andes virus has the potential for sexual transmission,” the study authors wrote, while noting that no sexually transmitted case of Andes virus has ever been officially documented.
Health experts say the findings mirror concerns previously seen with Ebola. A 2021 Ebola outbreak in Guinea that killed 12 people was later traced back to a survivor of the massive 2014-2016 epidemic, who transmitted the virus through unprotected sex.
The World Health Organization recommends Ebola survivors have their semen tested every three months and avoid unprotected sex until receiving two consecutive negative test results, as well as abstaining from sex or “use condoms consistently and correctly” until cleared. After any type of contact with semen, including masturbation, survivors are also advised to wash thoroughly with soap and water.
Experts – including analysts at disease forecasting company Airfinity – say similar precautions should be considered for survivors of the Andes strain.
Airfinity told The Telegraph that guidance for male hantavirus survivors should be “analogous to the World Health Organization’s Ebola survivor semen-monitoring protocols,” adding that patients should receive “extensive safe-sex guidance beyond the [42-day] quarantine.”
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