When a virus breaks out on a cruise ship, it’s often the norovirus, a highly contagious but normally not deadly disease. But the most recent cruise ship outbreak, caused by the deadly hantavirus, is causing a panic.
Hantavirus, which is most commonly spread by rodents, has a mortality rate of around 35%, according to the An outbreak occurred on the MV Hondius, a Dutch ship on a weekslong polar cruise that departed in April from Argentina for Antarctica聽and several isolated islands in the South Atlantic.
Three passengers have died and there are at least five confirmed cases of the virus.
Peter Greenberg, travel editor for CBS 草莓传媒, told 草莓传媒 that cruise ship bookings are still strong, and it’s not yet clear if there will be a negative impact on the industry.
Health officials are carrying out contact tracing from the cruise ship, and passengers returning home are being monitored by health officials in their home states 鈥� including Virginia.
“For the moment, should you be worried? No. Should you be concerned? Yes,” Greenberg said. “Ask the right questions before you book.”
Those questions could include asking about health protocols and policies of the cruise operator, and checking the CDC’s its ratings of cruise lines and specific ships.
Greenberg said many cruise lines have changed the way they serve food in order to reduce the likelihood of disease transmission.
“A lot of cruise lines will not let you serve yourself,” he said. “They will have waiters properly garbed to serve you the portions that you want, so that there’s not a lot of opportunity for infection.”
His advice to cruise passengers is to wash their hands before and after going to the bathroom and before and after a meal.
Greenberg suggested purchasing travel insurance, no matter what type of travel you’re planning. Consumers will see it formally referred to trip cancellation and interruption insurance.
“You buy that at the time you buy your airline flight or your cruise. There are some exclusions on those policies, but what it means is if the cruise cancels because of a virus, for example, you get your money back,” Greenberg said.
He said cruise lines include a number of provisions in their contracts.
“The cruise line reserves the right to substitute ports, substitute cruises and substitute dates, if it’s considered something beyond their control, like weather or disease,” Greenberg said. “If you don’t buy the insurance, then you’re subject to those rights and revisions that the cruise lines already have on their contract, so just be aware of that.”
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