Vector S01 - Ep. 4: The Cruise

Vector covers the MV Hondius outbreak, the first documented hantavirus cluster on a ship and the first major export of Andes virus from South America. We trace the ship's voyage from Ushuaia, the first death on April 11, the medical officer's call to shore, the international notification sequence that started on May 2, the virological reason this strain matters (it is the only hantavirus on earth known to spread person to person), the Argentinian investigation tracing the index case back to a bird-watching exposure, the repatriation of passengers across thirteen countries, and the 42-day quarantine of 16 American passengers at UNMC in Nebraska. We close by setting up the synthesis episode and the Moderna vaccine story that follows it.