A Dutch expedition ship carrying nearly 150 people is anchored off Cape Verde awaiting help after three passengers died and several others fell seriously ill in what authorities are treating as a suspected hantavirus outbreak. The World Health Organization and the ship operator, Oceanwide Expeditions, say the vessel requested assistance after reaching Cape Verde during a long polar voyage that began in Argentina and was visiting remote South Atlantic islands.
Cape Verde’s Health Ministry has not allowed the ship to dock and says it will remain in open waters near shore because of public health concerns. Authorities have made multiple visits to the vessel; Cape Verde sent a medical team that has included two doctors, a nurse and a laboratory specialist.
Hantavirus is a rodent-borne illness transmitted through contact with infected rodents or their urine, saliva or droppings. It is rare and not easily spread between people, though limited human-to-human transmission has been reported in some settings. The WHO is conducting laboratory and epidemiological investigations and coordinating evacuations and medical care.
Two crew members who are ill are being prioritized for evacuation; WHO officials are arranging transfers by ambulance to an airport for onward transport. Oceanwide has said the ship may attempt to move to Tenerife or Las Palmas in Spain if Cape Verde cannot carry out evacuations.
A British passenger who was evacuated to South Africa on April 27 tested positive for hantavirus and is in critical condition in intensive care. Officials say one deceased passenger, a German, remains on board. Earlier in the voyage a 70-year-old Dutch man died on April 11; his 69-year-old wife later died in South Africa after leaving the ship, and her blood tests were positive for hantavirus, giving two confirmed cases so far.
Current manifest figures show about 87 passengers still aboard, including 17 Americans, 19 British and 13 Spaniards, plus 61 crew members. Oceanwide reports two ill crew members—a British and a Dutch seafarer—with respiratory symptoms who need urgent care.
The Hondius departed Ushuaia, Argentina, on April 1. Argentine provincial authorities said no passengers had hantavirus symptoms at departure, but the incubation period can be as long as eight weeks, so infections might have been acquired before or during the voyage. Tierra del Fuego province has not historically reported hantavirus cases, though other Argentine provinces experienced outbreaks last year that resulted in deaths.
The expedition ship has roughly 80 cabins, a capacity of about 170 passengers and typically sails with around 70 crew, including a doctor. The first man who died aboard experienced fever, headache, abdominal pain and diarrhea; his body was removed at Saint Helena and was awaiting repatriation. The woman who later died collapsed at Johannesburg’s main international airport while trying to fly home and died in hospital; her positive hantavirus result was reported after her death. The British man who is critically ill was removed from the ship at Ascension Island and flown to South Africa for treatment.
South Africa’s National Institute for Communicable Diseases has begun contact tracing. WHO officials emphasize that while hantavirus can be severe in some cases, it is not easily transmitted between people and the public health risk to the wider population is low. There is no specific cure for hantavirus, but early medical attention can improve outcomes. WHO is coordinating a multicountry response with affected islands and countries to contain further spread and to provide treatment and support to passengers and crew.