Hantavirus-Stricken Cruise Ship Leaves Cape Verde for Canary Islands After Three Evacuations

The Dutch-flagged MV Hondius has left Cape Verde and begun a three-day voyage to the Canary Islands after officials evacuated three people showing symptoms of hantavirus. A British man aged 56, a Dutch crew member aged 41 and a German national aged 65 were flown to the Netherlands for treatment.

None of the three have tested positive for the virus so far. Three people have died aboard or after leaving the ship since it sailed from Argentina a month ago. Officials confirmed one death involved hantavirus while investigations continue into the other two.

The ship now carries 146 people from 23 countries under strict precautionary measures. The vessel had been anchored off Cape Verde after local authorities denied it permission to dock. Spanish health officials agreed to allow it to proceed to Tenerife, where those on board will receive medical assessments upon arrival.

Spaniards among the passengers will be transferred to a defense hospital in Madrid for quarantine while others will be repatriated if cleared.

The World Health Organization has identified eight cases of hantavirus linked to the ship, including three confirmed and five suspected. Health officials believe the Andes strain, common in Latin America where the cruise originated, spread through close human contact rather than solely from rodents.

Testing of remaining passengers continues. A German passenger evacuated Wednesday was closely associated with a German woman who died aboard on 2 May. Two British individuals who left the ship earlier are self-isolating at home in the UK without symptoms.

Officials stressed the risk of transmission to the wider public remains low.

Islands leaders opposed the docking plan, with one official telling radio interviewers the decision lacked technical criteria and sufficient information. The regional president said he could not allow the vessel to enter. Spanish national authorities proceeded anyway, stating the arrival would avoid contact with local citizens and posed no risk.

The ship is scheduled to dock within three days at Granadilla on Tenerife. Infectious disease experts and WHO staff have joined those remaining on board for the journey. All passengers currently show no symptoms.

One fatality involved a Dutch woman who disembarked at St Helena island on 24 April. She later died in South Africa on 26 April after taking a commercial flight. Her husband had died aboard the ship on 11 April but was not a confirmed hantavirus case.

Contact tracing continues for her flights. A third death, a German woman, is also unconfirmed. Her body remains on the vessel. A WHO official told reporters that hantavirus transmission requires physical contact and differs significantly from respiratory viruses such as COVID-19 or flu.

“We're not talking about casual contact from very far away from one another but really physical contact.”

The outbreak has drawn attention to the rising popularity of Antarctic cruises, which have increased as travelers seek to visit landscapes perceived as threatened by climate change. The MV Hondius was on such an itinerary when cases emerged. South African health authorities identified the Andes strain in two confirmed patients.

Experts noted this strain has previously shown human-to-human transmission in other outbreaks. Efforts to trace all contacts remain underway.