Overview
- WHO has confirmed three deaths and at least one laboratory‑proven hantavirus infection on the MV Hondius, with several additional cases under investigation.
- Spain's Health Ministry said the vessel will head to the Canary Islands within days for medical checks on arrival and isolation of passengers and crew.
- Cape Verde declined to let the ship dock as a precaution, and the operator sent two air ambulances to evacuate two ill people and the most recent fatality.
- A passenger airlifted to Johannesburg tested positive for hantavirus and remains in intensive care, while the reported deaths include a Dutch couple and a German passenger.
- Investigators are assessing whether exposure to infected rodents on board or infections acquired before boarding explain the cases, as WHO examines possible limited spread between close contacts.