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2h ago

WHO Confirms Hantavirus Cluster on Atlantic Cruise Ship With 3 Dead, 1 in ICU

A rare shipboard hantavirus probe now centers on the source as WHO leads evacuations, testing and risk assessment.

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Caption: A general view of the cruise ship MV Hondius stationary off the port of Praia, the capital of Cape Verde, on May 3, 2025. An outbreak of "severe acute respiratory illness" on board a cruise ship in the Atlantic has left two people dead and a third in intensive care in Johannesburg, South Africa's health ministry told AFP on May 3, 2025. The outbreak occurred on the MV Hondius, travelling from Ushuaia in Argentina to Cape Verde. The patient being treated in Johannesburg tested positive for a hantavirus, a family of viruses that can cause hemorrhagic fever, South African spokesperson Foster Mohale said. (Photo by AFP via Getty Images) Photographer: - Provider: AFP via Getty Images Source: AFP Copyright: AFP or licensors
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Warning signs for the hantavirus, are posted throughout Curry Village at Yosemite National Park, Calif, on Tuesday August 28, 2012. Four people have been infected with the hantavirus, two of which have died while staying at the Curry Village tent cabins at Yosemite National Park in California. (Michael Macor/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

Overview

  • WHO said Sunday one infection is laboratory confirmed with five suspected, three deaths reported and one patient in intensive care in South Africa.
  • The cases are tied to the MV Hondius, a Dutch-operated polar cruise now anchored off Praia in Cape Verde, where authorities have so far kept passengers on board.
  • South African officials said the first symptomatic passenger, a 70-year-old man, died on the ship, his 69-year-old wife died after evacuation to Johannesburg, and a 69-year-old British passenger remains in intensive care there.
  • WHO is coordinating medical evacuations for two symptomatic passengers, supporting full epidemiological investigations, and overseeing laboratory testing and viral sequencing to identify the strain.
  • Hantaviruses are usually caught from contact with infected rodent urine or droppings and only rarely spread between people, raising urgent questions about a possible rodent source on the vessel and how cruise lines manage outbreak risks at sea.