The MV Hondius, a Dutch cruise ship with nearly 150 people aboard, was anchored off Cape Verde on Monday awaiting help after three passengers died and at least three others were seriously ill in a suspected hantavirus outbreak, the World Health Organization and the ship’s operator said.
Oceanwide Expeditions said the vessel, on a weekslong polar cruise from Argentina to Antarctica and isolated South Atlantic islands, requested help after reaching Cape Verde. Cape Verde’s Health Ministry has not allowed the ship to dock and said it will remain in open waters near shore because of public health concerns.
Hantavirus is a rodent-borne illness spread by contact with rodents or their urine, saliva or droppings; WHO says it is rare but may sometimes spread between people. WHO is investigating and coordinating efforts to evacuate two sick crew members. A British man who was evacuated to South Africa on April 27 tested positive and is in critical condition in intensive care, authorities said.
Officials said one deceased passenger, a German, remains on the ship. Earlier, a 70-year-old Dutch man died onboard April 11; his 69-year-old wife died later in South Africa after leaving the ship. South Africa’s health minister said her blood later tested positive, giving two confirmed cases.
Among the remaining 87 passengers are 17 Americans, 19 from the U.K. and 13 from Spain; 61 crew members are also aboard. Oceanwide reported two ill crew—one British and one Dutch—with respiratory symptoms who need urgent care.
Cape Verde has sent a medical team of two doctors, a nurse and a laboratory specialist on multiple trips to the ship. WHO’s Dr. Ann Lindstrand said authorities were planning medical evacuations that would transfer passengers by ambulance to an airport. Oceanwide said it might try to move to Tenerife or Las Palmas in Spain if Cape Verde cannot carry out evacuations.
WHO said it is conducting a full public health risk assessment, with ongoing laboratory and epidemiological investigations while medical care and support are provided to passengers and crew. Lindstrand noted a possible additional mild case on the ship under assessment.
The Hondius departed Ushuaia, Argentina, on April 1. Argentine provincial authorities said no passengers had hantavirus symptoms at departure, but incubation can be up to eight weeks, so infections could have been acquired elsewhere. Tierra del Fuego province has not historically seen hantavirus cases, though other Argentine provinces reported outbreaks last year that resulted in deaths.
Oceanwide’s Hondius has about 80 cabins, a 170-passenger capacity and typically sails with roughly 70 crew, including a doctor. The Dutch man who first died had fever, headache, abdominal pain and diarrhea; his body was later removed at Saint Helena and was awaiting repatriation. The woman who died collapsed at Johannesburg’s main international airport while trying to fly home and died in hospital; her positive hantavirus result was reported posthumously. The sick British man was taken off the ship at Ascension Island and evacuated to South Africa.
South Africa’s National Institute for Communicable Diseases has begun contact tracing. Officials urged calm: WHO said it is coordinating a multicountry response with affected islands and countries to contain further spread. Hantavirus has no specific cure, but early medical attention can improve survival odds. WHO’s regional director for Europe, Dr. Hans Henri P. Kluge, said while the disease can be severe in some cases, it is not easily transmitted between people, the risk to the wider public is low, and there is no need for panic or travel restrictions.