Hantavirus cruise ship outbreak fears grow after three deaths, two confirmed cases and urgent medical evacuation plans aboard MV Hondius.
Hantavirus cruise ship outbreak fears have intensified after two cases were confirmed, three people died, and a UK national was left seriously ill following a suspected outbreak on the MV Hondius in the Atlantic Ocean.
The operator of the vessel, Oceanwide Expeditions, said a Dutch husband and wife, as well as a German national, had died during the unfolding medical crisis.
Hantavirus has been confirmed in the case of a 69-year-old UK national who remains in intensive care at a hospital in South Africa. The virus was also present in the Dutch woman who died. The causes of death of the other passengers are still being investigated.
Hantavirus is usually spread from rodents through their faeces, saliva, or urine. It can cause severe respiratory illness, although health authorities say it is rarely transmitted between people.
Alongside the two confirmed hantavirus cases, the World Health Organization said it is investigating five further suspected cases linked to the cruise ship.
The MV Hondius is currently off the coast of Cape Verde with 149 people on board from 23 countries.
“The atmosphere on board MV Hondius remains calm, with passengers generally composed,” Oceanwide Expeditions said.
The company added that two crew members on board have acute respiratory symptoms, one mild and one severe, although hantavirus has not been confirmed in either of them.
The two crew members are of British and Dutch nationality and both require urgent medical care, according to the operator. No other people on board have shown symptoms.
Dutch authorities are “actively preparing” for a medical evacuation of the two crew members, as well as a person “associated” with the German national who died, Oceanwide Expeditions said.
“This will involve two specialised aircraft equipped with the necessary medical equipment and staffed by trained medical crews,” the company said.
Negotiations are continuing with local authorities following what Oceanwide Expeditions described as “a serious medical situation”.
According to the timeline outlined by the company, one passenger became unwell while aboard the vessel and died on 11 April.
His cause of death could not be determined. His body was removed from the ship after it docked at St Helena on 24 April.
The passenger’s wife also disembarked on St Helena. The company said it was later told she became unwell during the return journey and subsequently died.
On 27 April, another passenger, the British national, became seriously ill and was medically evacuated to South Africa.
The 69-year-old remains in a critical but stable condition in Johannesburg after a variant of hantavirus was identified.
The company further stated that on Saturday, a third passenger on board the MV Hondius died.
Oceanwide Expeditions said the cause of death has not yet been established. It confirmed that the passenger was German.
Dr Aaron Motsoaledi, South Africa’s Minister of Health, said the British patient was in critical condition and had been admitted to a private facility.
“He’s being taken care of. As you know, hantavirus, like all viruses, don’t have any specific treatment, so they are giving symptomatic treatment and support as much as they could,” he said.
He added that health workers and anyone who had contact with the patient would now be traced and tested.
A UK government spokesperson said the foreign office was in contact with the man’s family and that consular teams were operating in the UK, South Africa, Spain, and Portugal to support British nationals.
Oceanwide Expeditions said the option of sailing to Las Palmas or Tenerife was being considered as a possible route for disembarkation, where further medical screening and handling could take place.
The WHO said it was “acting with urgency” to support the MV Hondius and thanked South African authorities for caring for the British patient.
WHO regional director for Europe, Dr Hans Henri P Kluge, said “hantavirus infections are uncommon”.
“While severe in some cases, it is not easily transmitted between people. The risk to the wider public remains low. There is no need for panic or travel restrictions,” he said.
According to the South African government, the MV Hondius departed from Ushuaia in southern Argentina about three weeks ago before completing its journey to Cape Verde, where it is anchored outside the capital, Praia.
The vessel is described as a 107.6m, or 353ft, polar cruise ship. It has space for 170 passengers in 80 cabins, along with 57 crew members, 13 guides, and one doctor.
One passenger on board the MV Hondius, who asked to remain anonymous, said the latest information given to passengers was that a plane was on its way.
“The latest word is that a plane is on its way and once it gets here three people will be evacuated from the ship and flown straight to Europe,” the passenger said.
“Then the rest of us will almost certainly sail to the Canary Islands,” the passenger added.
The passenger also claimed that Cape Verde authorities appeared unwilling to allow disembarkation.
“The Cape Verde authorities clearly want nothing to do with us. This is what we’re hearing from the captain and staff. From what I can see the mood on the ship is pretty good,” the passenger said.
The passenger said only one person had been tested so far, referring to the patient now in South Africa, and that he had tested positive for hantavirus.
“So, we don’t actually know yet if the other cases are that or something unrelated,” the passenger said.
“If they are all hantavirus then the transmission is a bit mysterious. We’ve been informed that there are no rodents on board, and person-to-person transmission is difficult/rare.”
The passenger said they hoped the other patients on board would be tested soon so there would be a clearer understanding of what was happening.
President of the Cape Verdean Public Health Institute, Maria Da Luz, said passengers would not be disembarking in Cape Verde in order to protect the local population, according to Cape Verde’s media outlet A Nacao.
However, questions remain over how the infection may have reached the vessel, whether the suspected cases are linked, and how authorities will manage the evacuation, testing, and onward journey of passengers and crew.
What happens next could be critical, as health officials, ship operators, and local authorities work to contain the suspected outbreak while reassuring the wider public that the risk remains low.
