Suspected hantavirus outbreak on cruise ship leaves three dead, six ill

Public-health officials were racing to determine how a rare rodent-borne virus reached passengers and crew aboard the MV Hondius, where a suspected hantavirus outbreak left three people dead and six others ill. The World Health Organization said one case had been laboratory confirmed and five more were still under investigation, making the shipborne episode an unusual and closely watched medical event.

The vessel, operated by Oceanwide Expeditions, was off Cape Verde in the Atlantic Ocean after leaving Ushuaia, Argentina, about three weeks earlier and stopping in Antarctica and other locations along the way. That itinerary has made the investigation especially difficult, because officials still need to determine where exposure may have occurred and whether the source was connected to the ship, a port call or another point on the voyage.

Among the affected were one sick passenger in intensive care in South Africa, two crew members who also required urgent medical care and three passengers who died. Oceanwide Expeditions said Cape Verde authorities had not yet authorized disembarkation for passengers needing medical care or screening as of 23:00 CET on May 3, 2026. Dutch authorities were working to arrange repatriation of the two symptomatic individuals and the body of a deceased passenger.

Hantaviruses are usually spread through exposure to urine, saliva or feces from infected rodents such as rats or mice, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says they are not generally spread person to person. Symptoms can begin one to eight weeks after exposure and may start as flu-like illness before progressing to coughing, shortness of breath and, in severe cases, fatal pulmonary disease. That makes timing, location and possible contact with rodents or contaminated surfaces central questions for investigators assessing the risk to anyone who traveled on the ship.

The outbreak also comes against a broader regional rise in disease activity. The Pan American Health Organization said in December 2025 that hantavirus cases in the Americas had climbed during the year, reaching 229 confirmed cases and 59 deaths across eight countries by epidemiological week 47, with Argentina reporting the highest number of cases in the region. WHO said it was coordinating with the ship’s operators and member states to support medical evacuation, a full public-health risk assessment and care for those still aboard, as health authorities worked to separate a rare maritime cluster from the more familiar pattern of rodent exposure on land.