CAPE TOWN, South Africa — The MV Hondius, a Dutch cruise ship with nearly 150 people aboard, was awaiting assistance off Cape Verde after three passengers died and at least three others fell seriously ill in a suspected hantavirus outbreak, the World Health Organization and the ship’s operator said.
The vessel, operated by Netherlands-based Oceanwide Expeditions and en route on a weekslong polar cruise from Argentina to Antarctica and isolated South Atlantic islands, requested help after reaching waters near Cape Verde. Local authorities have not allowed passengers or crew to disembark, the Cape Verde Health Ministry said, citing public health concerns; the ship will remain in open waters close to shore.
Hantavirus is a rodent-borne illness transmitted by contact with rodents or their urine, saliva or droppings. WHO says it is rare and, while possible, is not easily spread between people. There is no specific treatment, but early medical attention can improve survival chances.
WHO and Oceanwide said investigations and testing are ongoing. Two crew members — one British and one Dutch — are showing respiratory symptoms and urgently need medical care, the company said. WHO said it was coordinating the evacuation of the two sick crew members and conducting a full public health risk assessment with local authorities and the operator.
A British man who was evacuated from the ship to South Africa on April 27 tested positive for hantavirus and remains in critical condition in intensive care, authorities said. A German passenger’s body remains on the ship. Earlier, a 70-year-old Dutch man died aboard on April 11; his 69-year-old wife later died in South Africa after collapsing at Johannesburg’s main international airport. Her blood tested positive for hantavirus, South Africa’s health minister said, making two confirmed cases tied to the voyage.
The Hondius left Ushuaia, in southern Argentina, on April 1. Argentine provincial officials said no passengers had symptoms when the ship departed, but Juan Facundo Petrina, director of epidemiology for Tierra del Fuego province, noted hantavirus symptoms can appear up to eight weeks after exposure, meaning passengers could have been incubating the disease from exposures elsewhere. Argentina’s health ministry reported 28 hantavirus deaths nationwide last year, and outbreaks have occurred previously in the region.
Oceanwide said the Hondius typically carries up to 170 passengers in 80 cabins and sails with about 70 crew members, including a doctor. Onboard at the time of the Cape Verde hold were 87 remaining passengers — including 17 Americans, 19 from the U.K. and 13 Spaniards — and 61 crew.
Cape Verde sent medical teams in multiple trips — two doctors, a nurse and a laboratory specialist — to assess the situation, WHO official Dr. Ann Lindstrand said. They have been preparing for medical evacuations, transferring passengers by ambulance to airports if needed. Lindstrand called the situation “very tricky” for Cape Verdean authorities, who must weigh protecting their population.
Oceanwide said it might try to move to Tenerife or Las Palmas in the Canary Islands if evacuations cannot be arranged in Cape Verde. WHO said detailed laboratory and epidemiological investigations are underway and medical care is being provided to passengers and crew. Lindstrand said health workers were still assessing a possible new mild case on the ship.
South Africa’s National Institute for Communicable Diseases has begun contact tracing to identify potential exposures linked to the cruise. Health officials urged calm. WHO regional director Dr. Hans Henri P. Kluge said the risk to the wider public remains low and there is no need for panic or travel restrictions while authorities coordinate a multicountry response to contain further spread.