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Three Dead from Suspected Hantavirus on MV Hondius Off Cape Verde, WHO Coordinates Response
A suspected hantavirus outbreak on the MV Hondius cruise ship has killed three passengers and left others ill, with the vessel anchored off Cape Verde awaiting medical assistance. One case is laboratory-confirmed, and investigations are ongoing to determine the source. The rare rodent-borne virus typically does not spread person-to-person.
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The MV Hondius remains anchored off the coast of Cape Verde after a suspected hantavirus outbreak that has killed three people and affected six in total, according to the World Health Organization. The ship, which departed from Ushuaia, Argentina, was on a voyage that included stops in Antarctica, the Falkland Islands, South Georgia and other South Atlantic islands.
One laboratory-confirmed case of hantavirus has been identified, with five additional suspected cases, the WHO said.
The first death was a 70-year-old Dutch man who died onboard near Saint Helena after developing fever, headache, abdominal pain and diarrhea. His 69-year-old wife was evacuated but died in a South African hospital. A British man evacuated from Ascension Island tested positive for hantavirus and is in critical condition in intensive care in South Africa.
The identity of the third person who died has not been publicly released, and the body remains on the ship. Two crew members currently require urgent medical care, according to the expedition operator Oceanwide Expeditions.
Cape Verde health authorities have conducted an assessment but have not yet approved disembarkation or evacuation. The WHO is supporting local authorities and the ship’s operators with a full risk assessment that includes further laboratory testing, virus sequencing and epidemiological investigations.
Medical support is being provided to those on board. The Dutch Foreign Ministry is exploring options for evacuation of some individuals. Contact tracing is ongoing in South Africa, where the Dutch woman collapsed at an airport upon arrival; no further spread has been reported there.
“WHO is aware of and supporting a public health event involving a cruise vessel sailing in the Atlantic Ocean,” the organization stated. Dr. Hans Henri P. Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe, said on May 4, 2026: “While severe in some cases, it is not easily transmitted between people. The risk to the wider public remains low. There is no need for panic or travel restrictions.”
