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 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,” the WHO told AFP.

“Of the six affected individuals, three have died and one is currently in intensive care in South Africa.”

Earlier on May 3, South Africa’s Health Ministry told AFP there had been an outbreak of a “severe acute respiratory illness”, which had killed at least two people, with a third in intensive care in Johannesburg.

The patient being treated in Johannesburg tested positive for a hantavirus, a family of viruses that can cause haemorrhagic fever, South African spokesman Foster Mohale said.

In its statement, the WHO said: “Hantavirus infections are typically linked to environmental exposure (exposure to 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.”

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 victim had a fever, headache, abdominal pain and diarrhoea.

The passenger died on arrival in St Helena Island, he said, and his remains were awaiting repatriation to the Netherlands.

The victim’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 trying to fly home to the Netherlands.

She was taken to a Johannesburg hospital, where she died.

A source close to the case, 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 further 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, Mr Mohale added.

“There is no need for the public to panic because only two patients from the cruise ship have been within our borders,” he said, adding: “The World Health Organization is coordinating a multicountry response with all affected islands and countries to contain further spread of the disease.”

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 anonymous source said.

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.

The MV Hondius is listed as a polar cruise ship on the websites of several travel agencies. It is operated by a Dutch-based tour 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 was carrying 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 can accommodate around 170 passengers and has some 70 crew members.

Humans can catch hantaviruses from contact with infected mice or rats 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 has contacted the cruise operator Oceanwide Expeditions, but has not yet had a reply. AFP, REUTERS, NYTIMES