Is the hantavirus a risk for Canadian workplaces?

A deadly hantavirus outbreak aboard a luxury Antarctic cruise ship has drawn international attention to a disease that, while rare in Canada, can have serious implications for certain workplaces — particularly those with rodent exposure.

Three people have died in the outbreak aboard the MV Hondius, a Dutch-flagged vessel that departed Ushuaia, Argentina on April 1, 2026. Eight people are suspected to have contracted the virus, and roughly 150 passengers remained stranded at sea as of early May.

The strain involved — the Andes virus — is notable because it is one of the only hantavirus strains known to transmit from person to person, though experts stress that contagion is rare and requires very close, prolonged contact.

"In Canada, we do not have the species of hantaviruses that are known to transmit from human to humans," says David Safronetz, chief of special pathogens at the Public Health Agency of Canada.

"Those are exclusive to South America, really, and it's primarily, in fact, only the Andes virus strain — so the strain that we're currently seeing on this cruise ship."

Hantavirus risks in Canada

The predominant hantavirus in Canada is the Sin Nombre virus (SNV), which causes hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) — a severe respiratory illness with a fatality rate of up to 30%, according to Safronetz, who is also an adjunct professor of medical microbiology at the University of Manitoba.

It is transmitted directly from rodents to humans, most commonly through inhalation of contaminated materials.

"A classic example is when you're opening up an overwintering building and you go in and you start sweeping or dusting and you're brushing aside rodent feces — you're ending up breathing some of that in," he says. "If you're unfortunate and there is infectious virus in that material, you can become infected."

Despite the severity of the disease, cases in Canada are extremely rare. Some locations may see 20% of rodents infected, while others have none.

"The disease itself in humans is extremely rare. We see maybe five cases a year, on average; an extremely busy year would be 10 cases a year," says Safronetz, adding that cases are concentrated primarily in Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia and Manitoba.

What employers need to know

For workplaces where rodent activity is possible — whether a rural facility, warehouse or overwintering building — he points to rodent control as the most effective line of defence.

“Whether that's through professionals coming in and setting traps or if there's people within the workplace that are doing it themselves, keeping the rodent levels low will actually go a long way to reducing the risk of the virus.”

In situations where sweeping or cleaning of potentially contaminated spaces is routine, appropriate precautions are warranted.

“Have the people sweeping wear a mask and things of that nature to prevent themselves from actually inhaling the virus if it were there," says Safronetz.

The WHO also advises wet-cleaning methods rather than dry sweeping and emphasizes adequate ventilation when cleaning spaces that may have been exposed to rodents.

While inhalation of aerosolized particles from rodent droppings or urine is the primary transmission route, ingestion is also possible if rodents contaminate a food source that isn't subsequently cooked, according to Safronetz. Cooking foods at high temperatures will kill the virus, he notes, but uncooked foods such as raw fruit or grains could present a risk if contaminated.

Infected employees at work

The cruise ship outbreak has raised questions about what employers should do if a worker returns from travel and is later found to have contracted hantavirus — particularly the Andes strain.

If an employee returns to Canada while still in the incubation period and has no symptoms, the risk to coworkers is extremely low, says Safronetz.

"We believe it's only at the time where symptoms become apparent… there’s a theoretical risk there, but this virus transmits very inefficiently human to human — you do really need prolonged and close contact with these individuals."

The bigger risk would be to the partners of those individuals or anybody living at home with them, he says: “They would be at a greater risk than would people just transiently passing by in a workplace.”

The incubation period for HPS typically runs two to four weeks after initial exposure, though it can range from one to eight weeks, according to the WHO. The Public Health Agency of Canada has noted that border officers screen all arriving travellers and refer those displaying symptoms for further health assessment.

No treatment, no vaccine for hantavirus

There are currently no approved antivirals, therapeutics or vaccines for hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, according to both the WHO and Safronetz.

"There's nothing that we can administer that will immediately begin to alleviate the conditions and reverse the signs of disease," he says. "It's the supportive care that helps boost the body's immune system and really tries to prolong life until the body itself can clear the infection and recover on its own —which can happen almost as fast as the disease onset does itself."

Early intervention remains critical. When symptoms progress to respiratory distress, access to intensive care significantly improves survival chances, he notes, though often symptoms such as fatigue or a cough can be confused with another health condition. The WHO advises that patients showing signs of HPS be promptly transferred to an emergency department or ICU for close monitoring.

Climate change and future risk

While hantavirus case numbers in Canada have remained relatively stable, Safronetz says the situation warrants ongoing monitoring as climate patterns shift.

"As winters become milder, you start to see less rodent die-off over winter, which would suggest larger rodent populations in springs and in summers — and spring is when we see a lot of the cases of hantavirus infection in Canada," he says. "As this continues, that might be the result."

No significant upward trend has been observed in Canadian case counts to date, he adds, "but it is something that we're monitoring closely."