Based on recent international reports regarding several cases of Hantavirus on a cruise ship, GGD Bonaire / Public Health Department of the Public Entity Bonaire informs that the risk for Bonaire and the Caribbean region is currently very low.
The reports concern an outbreak of Hantavirus on an expedition cruise ship that sailed around South America and in the Atlantic Ocean. Some passengers and crew members became seriously ill, and there have been fatalities.
There are no confirmed cases of Hantavirus in Bonaire. Furthermore, there are no signs that the virus is spreading within the Caribbean region.
According to the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) and the World Health Organization (WHO), the risk for the region is currently very low.
Hantavirus occurs only among certain rodents (animals such as mice, rats, etc.). The specific type of virus confirmed in this outbreak occurs primarily in parts of Chile and Argentina, where wild mice and rats can transmit the virus. These specific rodents are not found in Bonaire.
Infection usually occurs through contact with the urine, droppings, or saliva of infected rodents—for example, by inhaling dust in contaminated areas. Person-to-person transmission is very rare and occurs only in exceptional situations involving close and prolonged contact.
Additionally, according to international health organizations, the risk of a pandemic is very small because Hantavirus does not spread easily between humans.