Three die on Atlantic cruise ship from suspected hantavirus: WHO

JOHANNESBURG - Three people have died on a cruise ship in the Atlantic, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on May 3. One is a confirmed case of hantavirus – an illness usually transmitted to humans from rodents.

The outbreak occurred on the MV Hondius, travelling from Ushuaia in Argentina to Cape Verde.

“To date, one case of hantavirus infection has been laboratory confirmed and there are five additional suspected cases,” said the WHO. “Of the six affected individuals, three have died and one is in intensive care in South Africa.”

South Africa’s Health Ministry told AFP on May 3 an outbreak of a “severe acute respiratory illness” had killed at least two people, with a third in intensive care in Johannesburg. The patient being treated tested positive for hantavirus, a family of viruses that can cause haemorrhagic fever, said spokesman Foster Mohale.

The WHO said in its statement: “Hantavirus infections are typically linked to environmental exposure (infected rodents’ urine or faeces). While rare, hantavirus may spread between people, and can lead to severe respiratory illness and requires careful patient monitoring, support and response.”

“The risk to the wider public remains low. There is no need for panic or travel restrictions,” WHO regional director for Europe Hans Kluge said in a statement on May 4.

He said the WHO was acting with urgency to support the response to the outbreak and working with the countries involved to support medical care, evacuation, investigations and a public health risk assessment.

Husband and wife

The first person to develop symptoms was a 70-year-old passenger. He died on board the ship and his body was on the island of St Helena, a British territory in the South Atlantic, said Mr Mohale, the South African spokesman.

The New York Times, citing Mr Mohale, said the passenger had fever, headache, abdominal pain and diarrhoea. He died on arrival in St Helena Island and his remains were awaiting repatriation to the Netherlands.

The passenger’s 69-year-old wife also fell ill on board. The New York Times reported that she collapsed at O.R. Tambo International Airport in South Africa while waiting to fly home to the Netherlands. She was taken to a Johannesburg hospital, where she died.

A source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said a Dutch couple were among the dead. The third fatality was still on board the ship.

A Dutch Foreign Ministry spokesperson confirmed that two Dutch passengers had died, but gave no details, reported Reuters.

The third patient was a British national who became ill while the ship was travelling from St Helena to Ascension Island, reported NYT. He was transferred from a hospital in Ascension to a private South African health facility in Sandton.

His laboratory test results came back positive for hantavirus, Mr Mohale said.

The South African health department is working with the National Institute for Communicable Diseases and Gauteng health authorities to conduct contact tracing.

“There is no need for the public to panic because only two patients from the cruise ship have been within our borders,” he said.

Discussions were under way to decide whether two other sick passengers should be placed in isolation in hospital in Cape Verde, after which the ship would continue to Spain’s Canary Islands, the source said.

In a statement on May 4, the vessel’s operator said: “Dutch authorities have agreed to lead a joint effort to organise the repatriation of the two symptomatic individuals on board MV Hondius from Cape Verde to the Netherlands.”

Such a repatriation would depend on several factors, including authorisation from local officials in Cape Verde, said Oceanwide Expeditions.

This comes after the WHO said it was “facilitating coordination” between national authorities and the ship’s operators to organise the medical evacuation of two passengers with symptoms. There has been no confirmation of hantavirus in both passengers.

The MV Hondius, listed as a polar cruise ship, is operated by a Dutch-based company, Oceanwide Expeditions.

According to several online ship-tracking sites, the MV Hondius was just off the port of Praia, the capital of Cape Verde, on May 3.

The ship, which had about 150 passengers from various countries, left Ushuaia in Argentina about three weeks ago for the Canary Islands, stopping in mainland Antarctica, the Falkland Islands, South Georgia, Nightingale Island, Tristan, St Helena, Ascension and Cape Verde, Mr Mohale said. The vessel has about 70 crew members.

Humans can catch hantaviruses from contact with infected rodents or their droppings, or being bitten or inhaling contaminated dust.

There are multiple types of hantaviruses in different parts of the world, with different symptoms.

At first, hantavirus causes flu-like symptoms, including fever, chills, body aches and headaches. As the disease progresses, respiratory symptoms develop, and patients can experience shortness of breath and then lung or heart failure.

The disease made headlines in 2025 after Ms Betsy Arakawa, the wife of American actor Gene Hackman, died from the effects of the virus. AFP, REUTERS, NYTIMES