The deadly cruise ship rat virus outbreak
5/5/202619 min
A luxury cruise ship is stranded in the Atlantic Ocean after a rare virus killed three passengers.
The World Health Organisation has confirmed the on board outbreak as hantavirus, a disease spread by rodents. At least four Aussies are among the 150 passengers now stuck on board the cruise liner, with the risk of the virus spreading.
Today we're breaking down what hantavirus is, how it got onto the ship, and what's happening to those still on board.
Hosts: Emma Gillespie and Billi FitzSimons
Producer: Rosa Bowden
Want to support The Daily Aus? That's so kind! The best way to do that is to click ‘follow’ on Spotify or Apple and to leave us a five-star review. We would be so grateful.
The Daily Aus is a media company focused on delivering accessible and digestible news to young people. We are completely independent.
Want more from TDA?
Subscribe to The Daily Aus newsletter
Subscribe to The Daily Aus’ YouTube Channel
Have feedback for us?
We’re always looking for new ways to improve what we do. If you’ve got feedback, we’re all ears. Tell us here.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsSpeaker 00:00
Today's podcast was made possible by our friends over at Odoo.
Billi FitzSimons· Host0:03
[instrumental music] Ready? And good morning and- This is The Daily Aus.
Mia0:08
This is The Daily Aus.
Billi FitzSimons· Host0:08
This is The Daily Aus. Oh, now it makes sense.
Emma Gillespie· Host0:11
[upbeat music] [instrumental music] Good morning, and welcome to The Daily Aus. It's Wednesday the 6th of May. I'm Emma Gillespie.
Billi FitzSimons· Host0:24
I'm Billi FitzSimons.
Emma Gillespie· Host0:26
As we speak, there is a luxury cruise ship stranded in the Atlantic Ocean after a rare virus killed three passengers. Now, the World Health Organization has confirmed the onboard outbreak is hantavirus, a disease spread by rodents. At least four Aussies are among the 150 passengers now stuck on board the cruise liner, with the risk of the virus spreading.
Jake Rosemarin· Soundbite0:49
I am currently on board the MV Hondias, and what's happening right now is very real for all of us here.
Emma Gillespie· Host0:57
Today, we are going to break down what hantavirus is, how it got onto the ship, and what's happening to those still on board. But first, you're gonna hear a quick word from Mia in the TDA team.
Mia1:08
[instrumental music] Hey, my name's Mia. I'm TDA's first head of operations. I joined the company last November, with a key part of my role being to accelerate TDA's growth and cement our position as a mainstay of the Australian media landscape. Before joining, I spent years in traditional newsrooms, but I decided to make the switch to new media because I