Rodents are potent disease vectors. Bubonic plague, leptospirosis, salmonella, tularemia, hantavirus, and typhus can all be spread by mice and rats, either by direct contact, through contact with their droppings, or by the fleas that infest them.
Now, we've learned that the recent cruise ship MV Hondius hantavirus outbreak's Patient Zero - the first patient infected - was a 70-year-old ornithologist who took a side excursion to a garbage dump in Argentina, where he was exposed to the Andes strain of hantavirus.
Hantavirus “Patient Zero” has been identified as Leo Schilperoord, a 70-year-old Dutch ornithologist who visited a landfill in Argentina, containing rodents potentially carrying the Andes virus strain pic.twitter.com/6EHWy2RH5u
— Interesting AF (@interesting_aIl) May 9, 2026
The hantavirus is a potentially lethal virus that is normally contracted through exposure to rodent droppings, but the Andes strain, which was identified in this case, has been documented to have been transmitted from person-to-person. A giant, floating incubator like a cruise ship or, in this case, an expedition ship, would be the ideal environment for just such a pathogen. The hantavirus is a nasty little bug, too, with a mortality rate approaching 40 percent, and the Andes strain's being transmitted from person-to-person makes it even more troublesome. What's more, it's hard to imagine a more rat-friendly environment than a garbage dump, which is literally a gigantic buffet table for the nasty rodents.
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Six states are now monitoring cases of the hantavirus.
NEW: 6 states are now monitoring passengers — and others — who may have crossed paths with people aboard the cruise ship linked to the hantavirus outbreak.
— Fox News (@FoxNews) May 9, 2026
Virginia, Georgia, California, Arizona, and Texas are tracking both passengers and potential contacts. New Jersey is… pic.twitter.com/T4YCi7EaKm
The post reads:
NEW: 6 states are now monitoring passengers — and others — who may have crossed paths with people aboard the cruise ship linked to the hantavirus outbreak.
Virginia, Georgia, California, Arizona, and Texas are tracking both passengers and potential contacts. New Jersey is monitoring individuals who may have interacted with someone from the ship.
The outbreak, which originated aboard the MV Hondius, has been linked to at least 3 deaths and 8 reported cases as of May 8, according to reports citing the World Health Organization.
Also, as of this writing, 17 Americans are awaiting evacuation from the ship, which is currently in the Canary Islands.
The 17 Americans still stranded aboard the hantavirus-stricken MV Hondius cruise ship are set to be evacuated to a quarantine center in Nebraska in the coming days, the CDC said Sunday – but not until after the 13 Spanish nationals aboard disembark.
The MV Hondius docked in Tenerife Sunday to begin the weeklong evacuation process for the ship’s 147 passengers – who hail from a dozen countries and are being taken off the boat in groups by nationality.
The American passengers are next up, and will be taken on a US government medical repatriation flight to the National Quarantine Unit, overseen by Nebraska Medicine and the University of Nebraska Medical Center for further evaluation and quarantine.
Leo Schilperoord was reportedly looking for a rare bird when he visited the landfill in Argentina.
If we can derive one vital health tip from this event, it would be this: Avoid rat-infested garbage dumps.
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