Public concern over hantavirus has grown following reports of deaths linked to a cruise ship outbreak in South America and the return of an Australian passenger, but three University of the Sunshine Coast experts say the risk of wider transmission in Australia remains low.
The outbreak has been linked to the Andes virus, a strain of hantavirus found in parts of Argentina and Chile. According to UniSC Associate Professor and microbiologist Joanne Macdonald, the virus relies on a specific rodent host that does not exist in Australia.
“The Andes virus, which has been confirmed in the 2026 cruise ship outbreak, is endemic in Argentina and Chile, and has a specific reservoir host (Oligoryzomys longicaudatus, or long-tailed pygmy rice rat) which is only found in that region. This is why it hasn’t become endemic anywhere else,” Associate Professor Macdonald said.
She said Andes virus was unusual among hantaviruses because it could spread between people, though transmission generally required close contact.
“Andes virus can spread from person to person, but only via close contacts. In the current incident, one of the contacts that has fallen ill is the cruise ship doctor – which makes sense if they were treating the sick patients,” she said.
Macdonald said the likelihood of an Australian outbreak was low because of Australia’s geographical isolation and the absence of the rodent species associated with the virus.
“The chances of an outbreak in Australia are minimal for two reasons: People would have to be in close contact with the Australian exposed; We don’t have the reservoir host for it to become endemic.”
The comments come as cruise ship health protocols again attract scrutiny, particularly around disease containment and emergency medical responses.
UniSC Senior Lecturer in Nursing Matt Mason said the situation highlighted the need to maintain strong infection prevention measures developed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This situation shows that we need to implement infection prevention and control measures based on the knowledge we gained from experiences with COVID-19,” Mason said.
“Cruise ships continue to face challenges in containing the spread of infectious diseases, and hantavirus is just one example.”
He said issues around docking permissions and medical access raised broader questions about emergency response systems during outbreaks.
Macdonald said the likelihood of an Australian outbreak was low because of Australia’s geographical isolation and the absence of the rodent species associated with the virus
“When passengers require medical treatment and ships are denied permission to dock, it raises important questions about the adequacy of public health infrastructure and the difficulty of balancing individual care with broader disease containment measures,” he said.
“In some cases, decisions around docking permissions may also reflect political posturing, where governments prioritise projecting an image of control over the immediate health needs of those affected.”
Mason said the incubation period for hantavirus could extend for several weeks, meaning monitoring of returning passengers would remain important.
“Overall, this is a very low risk to Australia. Assuming any passengers returning home to Australia are well enough to travel, they will require some monitoring for up to six weeks, as the incubation period for hantavirus is quite long.”
UniSC Associate Professor of Microbiology Erin Price said Australia remained one of the few inhabited continents without a recorded human hantavirus case, despite evidence that rodents in Australia carry related viruses.
“I know about hantavirus because of my time living in Southwest USA, a region that has only become a hotspot for this disease in recent decades. They have really good public awareness of this disease and how to avoid it,” Price said.
“The risk in Australia is extremely low. We’re the only inhabited continent that has never had a recorded case of hantavirus, the same as the plague.”
Price said Australian rodents had shown antibodies linked to hantaviruses, but there had been no known jump to humans.
“It’s not that we don’t have hantavirus here (rodents here have antibodies against it), it’s just that the Australian hantaviruses haven’t jumped from rodents to humans.”
She said Australia’s isolation had played a role in preventing the virus from becoming established locally.
“It helps that we’re so geographically isolated, so these pathogens have struggled to gain a foothold here, despite huge anthropogenic pressure for disease spread.”
Price added that international travel remained the primary exposure risk for Australians.
“The biggest risk to Australians is when travelling abroad. The Andes virus, which is causing this cruise outbreak, is the only hantavirus that is known to have human-to-human transmission.”
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