Overview
- WHO said Sunday that one hantavirus infection is confirmed and five are suspected after three passengers died and a 69-year-old Briton was placed in intensive care in Johannesburg.
- The MV Hondius, a Dutch-operated cruise ship that sailed from Ushuaia toward Cape Verde, is anchored off Praia as local authorities restrict disembarkation during the health assessment.
- South African officials said the first symptomatic passenger, a 70-year-old man, died on board and his 69-year-old wife later died in a Johannesburg hospital, while the British patient tested positive and remains critically ill.
- WHO and national authorities are running laboratory tests and genetic sequencing and coordinating medical evacuations, as the ship’s operator reports two symptomatic crew members who were assessed as needing urgent care.
- Hantaviruses typically spread to people through contact with infected rodents or their droppings, with rare person-to-person transmission, which is why tracing exposures on the vessel and its recent route is central to judging broader risk.