May 7, 2026
Oceanwide Expeditions, operator of the MV Hondius, said in a statement on Thursday that all passengers with symptoms had been taken off the ship. “No symptomatic individuals are present on board,” the company said. The three people airlifted from the vessel “are now in the care of medical professionals.” Oceanwide said it is working to trace all passengers who had been on board and who possibly had contact with the virus. The company said 30 guests disembarked on Saint Helena on April 24; the Dutch government had earlier reported 40 disembarked with their whereabouts initially unknown. Oceanwide said those disembarked guests have all been contacted and that it is establishing details of everyone who embarked and disembarked on the m/v Hondius since March 20.
Timeline of the outbreak
– March 20: MV Hondius departs Tierra del Fuego with 149 people on board.
– April 1: Ship departs Ushuaia.
– April 6: A 70-year-old Dutch man falls ill with fever, headache, abdominal pain and diarrhea.
– April 11: The man dies; cause initially unknown.
– April 24: MV Hondius docks in Saint Helena; the man’s body and his wife disembark.
– April 25: The Dutch woman and her husband’s body flown to South Africa; the woman becomes ill en route and is too sick to fly to the Netherlands.
– April 26: The woman dies in a Johannesburg hospital.
– April 27: A British man is airlifted to Johannesburg after falling seriously ill.
– April 28: A German woman becomes seriously unwell.
– May 2: The German woman dies; tests on the British patient give the first confirmation of hantavirus.
– May 3: MV Hondius reaches Cape Verde with three passengers, including the ship doctor, reporting symptoms; the ship is not allowed to dock.
– May 4: Hantavirus confirmed in tests on the Dutch woman who died on April 26.
– May 5: Spain agrees to let the ship dock in Tenerife for quarantine and repatriation of passengers.
– May 6: Three patients evacuated from the ship; two taken to the Netherlands and one to Düsseldorf, Germany.
– May 7: A Dutch stewardess who briefly contacted the Dutch woman who later died is taken to an Amsterdam hospital after feeling unwell.
Cases, deaths and testing
Three people have died in the outbreak: an elderly Dutch couple and a German woman. At least one passenger who returned to Switzerland has tested positive. Tests indicate the virus on board corresponds to the Andes strain of hantavirus. Argentina’s Malbran Institute will send Andes virus RNA to Spain, Senegal, South Africa, the Netherlands and the UK to enable as many as 2,500 diagnostic tests.
Patient transfers, hospital care and logistics
Several suspected hantavirus patients were medevaced. An air ambulance carrying patients left Praia, Cape Verde, and later landed at Amsterdam Schiphol; at least one patient was bound for Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC), which said its ward is prepared for severe infectious diseases and will treat patients under strict isolation with protective equipment. Two patients flown to Amsterdam required a replacement air ambulance after a technical fault was reported by the plane’s doctor; the isolation bubble’s electrical support system was cited. One evacuation stop was made in Gran Canaria after Morocco refused the plane access to refuel in Marrakesh; Spanish authorities allowed a technical stop provided no one boarded or disembarked.
Precautionary monitoring and contacts
A Dutch stewardess with possible symptoms is in isolation at Amsterdam UMC and is being tested after contact with the deceased Dutch passenger. A person who came into contact with hantavirus on the Hondius was transported to the infectious diseases unit at University Hospital Düsseldorf for precautionary evaluation; the individual was asymptomatic and admission was described as precautionary. The UK Health Security Agency said two British nationals who returned to the UK independently have been advised to self-isolate; none are reporting symptoms. The US Centers for Disease Control said it is monitoring American passengers and described the risk to the wider public as “very low,” noting hantavirus is not spread by people without symptoms and typically requires close contact for transmission.
International response and investigations
Argentina will send technical teams to Ushuaia to capture and analyze rodents in areas linked to the suspected cases aboard the MV Hondius. Argentina’s Health Ministry noted no hantavirus cases had been recorded in Tierra del Fuego province since mandatory reporting began in 1996. The WHO said the risk to the wider world remains low and dismissed comparisons with the early COVID-19 pandemic; human-to-human transmission of the Andes strain can occur but generally requires prolonged close exposure and is considered uncommon. Experts have emphasized containment through isolation and quarantine.
Ship movements and next steps
The MV Hondius set sail from Praia bound for Tenerife; the voyage from Cape Verde to the Canary Islands takes three to four days. Spain has granted permission for the ship to dock in Tenerife, where passengers are expected to be quarantined and repatriated as appropriate, subject to local decisions and preparations. Authorities and health agencies continue contact tracing, testing and monitoring of passengers and crew who embarked and disembarked during the ship’s voyage.