{"text":[[{"start":5.4,"text":"The writer is a science commentator"}],[{"start":8.45,"text":"As I lean into later life, the idea of a cruise is not quite as off-putting as it used to be. Recent events, however, are newly crushing the appeal of dining at the captain’s table."}],[{"start":18.7,"text":"Three passengers on an Atlantic cruise have died after suspected hantavirus infection, according to the World Health Organization. The rodent-borne virus can be transmitted to people via bites or rat droppings, saliva or urine. Another passenger, a UK national, is in intensive care in South Africa and two more still aboard are unwell (a third patient is improving)."}],[{"start":41.8,"text":"As of Tuesday, the Dutch-flagged ship, with 147 passengers and crew, was anchored off Cape Verde and local health officials have boarded, but nobody can leave the ship, with passengers confined to cabins. Oceanwide Expeditions, the ship operator, said Dutch authorities are looking to evacuate the sick, with the boat sailing on to the Canary Islands to disembark. A WHO official said the agency was assuming some human-to-human transmission had taken place but added the risk to the public remained low. "}],[{"start":70.35,"text":"The ongoing tragedy highlights the challenge of public health emergencies at sea. Ships are enclosed environments that expose travellers to new people and new places, with shared water and ventilation systems, and communal dining. That can make cruises potential floating hotspots of infection that are hard to escape if the worst happens. In early 2020, the Diamond Princess cruise ship boasted the highest number of Covid cases outside China, with more than 700 infected."}],[{"start":100.64999999999999,"text":"The MV Hondius left Argentina on April 1. The first death, a 70-year-old Dutchman, happened on April 11; his wife, also Dutch, died about two weeks later. The WHO was informed on 2 May, when a third passenger died. On May 4, the WHO said there were seven cases in total, with two lab-confirmed hantavirus cases and five suspected. "}],[{"start":125.29999999999998,"text":"Hantaviruses are rodent-borne viruses named after the Hantan River in South Korea, where the first one was identified in the 1980s (scientists speculate it could explain a mystery illness seen in UN troops during the Korean war). They are harmless to the rats, mice and voles that carry them, and fall into two groups that cause distinct illnesses in humans."}],[{"start":147.24999999999997,"text":"Old World hantaviruses, found mostly in Africa, Asia and Europe, attack the kidneys, causing a disease known as haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome. It affects around 150,000 people annually and kills between one and 15 per cent of those infected."}],[{"start":164.24999999999997,"text":"New World hantaviruses, found in the Americas, attack the lungs, causing hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS), and are regarded as deadlier. Early symptoms resemble the fatigue and chills of flu; this can progress to diarrhoea, vomiting and breathing problems. HPS kills around one-third of those who develop respiratory symptoms."}],[{"start":186.24999999999997,"text":"Hantaviruses are not generally thought to spread between people but in 2020, some human transmission was documented for the Andes hantavirus, found in Argentina and Chile. While genetic sequencing, currently under way, will reveal which virus is responsible, Maria Van Kerkhove from WHO said on Tuesday that the Andes was a prime suspect."}],[{"start":209.59999999999997,"text":"There is no cure and no treatment, only supportive care like ventilation or dialysis. There is no vaccine to prevent infection, though scientists at the UK Health Security Agency are among groups trying to develop one."}],[{"start":223.89999999999998,"text":"Fortunately, life-threatening illness is rare. In December, WHO issued an ‘epidemiological alert’ on HPS in the southern Americas, triggered by 229 confirmed cases in 2025 (a quarter of whom died). Argentina, from where the ship sailed, was one of the worst-affected countries. "}],[{"start":241.54999999999998,"text":"The virus can incubate for between one and eight weeks, making it hard to know yet whether passengers were infected before leaving Argentina; on a cruise stop to a remote island; or on board. According to the WHO, the Dutch couple had travelled around South America before boarding. Hantavirus poses the biggest risk to farming and forestry workers, pet owners, and those clearing old buildings, who can inhale droppings that have turned to dust."}],[{"start":270.4,"text":"Contaminated food is another possibility. Outbreaks of gastrointestinal illnesses, such as norovirus, are not uncommon on cruise ships. Not that such outbreaks put off diehard cruisers. According to one industry report, around 38mn people cruised in 2025, with four out of five passengers intending to sail again. The pull of the captain’s table is strong indeed."}],[{"start":300.49999999999994,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1778050927_4954.mp3"}