Overview
- The WHO said Sunday there is one lab-confirmed hantavirus infection and five suspected cases linked to the MV Hondius, with three deaths and one patient in intensive care in Johannesburg.
- Authorities reported the first known patient, a 70-year-old passenger, died onboard and was taken to Saint Helena, his 69-year-old spouse later died after evacuation to South Africa, and a 69-year-old British passenger remains in critical care.
- The MV Hondius, an Oceanwide Expeditions vessel carrying about 170 passengers and 70 crew, was off the port of Praia in Cabo Verde as health teams reviewed medical and travel options.
- Officials are weighing plans to isolate or evacuate two other symptomatic passengers to a hospital in Cabo Verde, after which the ship could proceed toward the Canary Islands, according to sources familiar with the talks.
- Investigators are running additional lab tests and viral sequencing to verify the pathogen and assess risk, as hantaviruses typically spread from infected rodents and only very rarely pass between people.