Summary

Three people have died after a suspected hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship en route from Argentina to Cape Verde, the World Health Organization tells the BBC

A 70-year-old male passenger became ill on the cruise and died on arrival at St Helena Island, a South African health official says - adding that the man's remains are now "awaiting repatriation to the Netherlands"

The man's wife, 69, also became ill and died in hospital in Johannesburg, South Africa - a South African official says the couple were Dutch

A 69-year-old British national is in intensive care also in Johannesburg, while two crew members on board need urgent medical assistance

Dutch officials are planning the repatriation of two symptomatic individuals as well as the body of the third person who died, which is still on board the vessel

Hantavirus refers to a strain of viruses carried by rodents, primarily transmitted to humans through inhalation of airborne particles from dried rodent droppings

Live Reporting

Edited by Chris Graham

What we know about the cruise

published at 17:40

17:40

A BBC map showing where Argentina, Cape Verde and South Africa are located

The outbreak was reported aboard the MV Hondius cruise ship, which was travelling from Argentina to Cape Verde.

The MV Hondius is run by tour company Oceanwide Expeditions.

According to an itinerary on its website, MV Hondius departed from Ushuaia in Argentina on 20 March and was expected to complete its journey on 4 May in Cape Verde, an island nation in the Atlantic west of Africa.

It is described as a 107.6m (353ft) polar cruise ship, with space for 170 passengers in 80 cabins, along with 57 crew members, 13 guides and one doctor.

A separate statement from the South African Department of Health says the ship was carrying around 150 tourists.

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Dutch authorities leading efforts to repatriate symptomatic individuals

published at 16:54

16:54

BREAKING

Dutch authorities are leading efforts to repatriate two symptomatic people aboard the ship, Oceanwide Expeditions says.

"The body of the deceased individual is also planned to be included in this repatriation, along with a guest closely associated with the deceased," it says, adding the guest is not symptomatic.

To help the sick people return home to the Netherlands, Oceanwide Expeditions says it needs authorisation and support from authorities in Cape Verde, an island nation in the Atlantic west of Africa.

"We are in close contact with those directly affected and their families and are providing support where possible," it says.

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Cape Verde yet to authorise transfer of sick crew for treatment

published at 16:37

16:37

BREAKING

In an update on the situation on board the MV Hondius, cruise operator Oceanwide Expeditions says it has not been authorised by Cape Verde to allow crew members needing urgent medical assistance to disembark.

It says health officials have visited the ship, located off the coast of Cape Verde, and assessed "the two symptomatic individuals".

They are yet to make a decision regarding the transfer of these individuals into medical care in Cape Verde," Oceanwide Expeditions says in its statement.

It adds its priority is to ensure the two crew members checked by Cape Verde health officials "receive adequate and expedited medical care".

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Ship carrying around 150 tourists, according to South African officials

published at 16:05

16:05

A spokesperson from South Africa's Department of Health says the ship was carrying about 150 tourists from various countries, and left Ushuaia in Southern Argentina about three weeks ago.

They say it was heading to the Canary Islands with multiple stops in between, including mainland Antarctica, the Falklands, South Georgia, Nightingale Island, Tristan, St Helena, Ascension, and Cape Verde.

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Confirmed hantavirus case is UK passenger, says South Africa health department

published at 15:43

15:43

Cruise ship MV Hondius sailing outside a port

IMAGE SOURCE, AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

Earlier, the World Health Organization (WHO) said that one hantavirus case had been confirmed in a laboratory, with five more suspected cases under investigation.

A spokesperson from the South African Department of Health now says the confirmed case is a 69-year-old British national.

He says the patient from the UK "became ill while the ship was travelling from St Helena to Ascension Island and was transferred from a hospital in Ascension to a South African private health facility in Sandton for medical attention".

"His laboratory test results came back positive for hantavirus," the spokesperson says.

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Deceased passenger 'suddenly became ill' after leaving Argentina

published at 15:31

15:31

South Africa's Department of Health spokesman Foster Mohale says the 70-year-old man "suddenly became ill" as the cruise ship sailed from the city of Ushuaia in Argentina to the island of St Helena.

Mohale adds that the man presented with "fever, headache, abdominal pain, diarrhoea", before dying on arrival in St Helena.

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Man who died on cruise 'awaiting repatriation' to the Netherlands - South Africa health official

published at 15:21

15:21

A spokesman for the South African Department of Health tells the BBC the 70-year-old cruise passenger who died is "awaiting repatriation to the Netherlands".

Foster Mohale says the man's wife collapsed while "trying to connect to a flight to her home country of the Netherlands" and "unfortunately passed away" in hospital in the Kempton Park area.

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UK Foreign Office monitoring situation and 'ready to support'

published at 15:12

15:12

The UK Foreign Office tells the BBC it is monitoring reports closely, and is "ready to support British nationals" following the suspected hantavirus outbreak.

"We are in touch with the cruise company and local authorities," a spokesperson adds.

As we reported in an earlier post, one British national, aged 69, is in intensive care in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has told the BBC earlier that three people have died following the suspected outbreak. One case has been confirmed, with five more suspected cases under investigation, it says.

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What is hantavirus?

published at 14:54

14:54

Hantavirus infections are typically linked to environmental exposure, the World Health Organization (WHO) says.

This includes "exposure to infected rodents’ urine or faeces".

In rare cases, WHO says the virus can also spread between people, and can lead to "severe respiratory illness".

It requires "careful patient monitoring, support and response", WHO says.

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'Further laboratory testing ongoing,' says WHO

published at 14:39

14:39

The World Health Organization (WHO) tells the BBC that "detailed investigations" into the suspected hantavirus cases are "ongoing, including further laboratory testing".

"Medical care and support are being provided to passengers and crew. Sequencing of the virus is also ongoing," it adds.

"WHO is facilitating coordination between Member States and the Ship’s operators for medical evacuation of two symptomatic passengers, as well as full public health risk assessment and support to the remaining passengers on board."

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70-year-old passenger first to show symptoms, South African authorities tell BBC

published at 14:31

14:31

View of the cruise ship MV Hondius stationary off the port of Praia, the capital of Cape Verde, on 3 May 2026

IMAGE SOURCE, GETTY IMAGES

Image caption,

The MV Hondius was sailing from Argentina to Cape Verde

South African authorities have told the BBC that the first person to show virus symptoms was a 70-year-old passenger who died on board the MV Hondius cruise ship.

His body is now on the island of Saint Helena, a British territory in the South Atlantic.

His 69-year-old wife also became ill on board and was evacuated to South Africa, where she died in a Johannesburg hospital.

The husband and wife were a Dutch couple, AFP news agency reports citing a source close to the case.

Speaking anonymously, the source tells AFP the third fatality was still on board the ship, and discussions were under way to decide whether two other sick passengers should be placed in isolation in hospital in Cape Verde.

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Three dead after suspected hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship

published at 14:25

14:25

Three people have died after a suspected hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship sailing in the Atlantic Ocean, the World Health Organization (WHO) has told the BBC.

One case has been confirmed, with five more suspected cases under investigation, it says.

One British national aged 69 is in intensive care in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The outbreak was reported aboard the MV Hondius cruise ship, which was travelling from Argentina to Cape Verde.

Hantavirus infections are usually linked to environmental exposure, such as contact with urine or faeces from infected rodents, but in rare cases can spread between people, leading to severe respiratory illness.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5863304&forum_id=2id.#49862517)

Patient fell ill with strain capable of human-to-human transmission after returning from cruise ship

Swiss officials are rushing to trace the contacts of a man who has been hospitalized in Zurich with a strain of the hantavirus that is capable of human-to-human transmission.

The patient became ill in Switzerland after returning from a trip to South America with his wife at the end of April, Switzerland’s Health Ministry said Wednesday. The man had traveled on the cruise ship where several cases of hantavirus, a disease typically carried by rodents, have killed at least three people, the ministry added.

The new case—in which a patient fell ill after his return to the mainland—raises the specter of human-to-human transmission outside the Dutch-flagged MV Hondius cruise ship, which is currently anchored near Cape Verde.

Swiss officials said they are investigating whether the Zurich patient came into contact with other people during his infectious period. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says symptoms of a hantavirus infection usually take one to two weeks to emerge, but in some cases can take as long as eight weeks.

Viruses in the hantavirus family usually spread to humans through contact with infected rodent urine, droppings or saliva. But one strain of the virus found primarily in Chile and Argentina, known as the Andes virus, has shown limited evidence of human-to-human transmission. The World Health Organization said Tuesday that it is possible that there was human-to-human transmission aboard the MV Hondius.

The new hantavirus case emerged when the Zurich patient started to feel ill after his South American trip and phoned his physician. He then went to a hospital, where he tested positive for the Andes virus. The patient’s wife hasn’t shown symptoms but is “self-isolating as a precaution,” the Swiss Health Ministry said.

Aerial view of health personnel assisting patients from the MV Hondius cruise ship onto a boat in Praia, Cape Verde.

Health personnel help patients onto a boat from the MV Hondius. Agence France-Presse/Getty Images

Oceanwide Expeditions, the vessel’s operator, said three individuals on the boat were set to be evacuated on Wednesday morning. Two of the people show acute symptoms while the third is closely associated with a passenger who died onboard on May 2.

Two other people who traveled on the ship have died of hantavirus since April 11. A British passenger who was infected by the Andes virus was evacuated to South Africa in late April.

Swiss health officials said human-to-human transmission occurs through close contact and that it “considers the occurrence of further cases in Switzerland unlikely.”

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5863304&forum_id=2id.#49869531)

Update 10:13 a.m. - Article updated to add the latest information about medical evacuations in the bottom six paragraphs

A KLM flight attendant from Haarlem has been hospitalized due to a possible hantavirus infection. She came into contact with the 69-year-old Dutch woman who died of the virus in Johannesburg, South Africa. The flight attendant is in isolation at Amsterdam UMC with mild symptoms. She is currently being tested for the hantavirus, the Ministry of Public Health confirmed to RTL Nieuws.

The Dutch woman died of the hantavirus in a hospital in Johannesburg on April 26. A day earlier, she had been on board a KLM plane at the O.R. Tambo International Airport for a “short period” before KLM staff asked her to disembark because she was sick.

After the woman was removed from the aircraft, the flight departed from Johannesburg to Amsterdam at 11:15 p.m. on April 25. The flight attendant now hospitalized in Amsterdam worked on that flight. She is being tested for the virus.

The Dutch health service GGD was working on contacting all the passengers on the flight, warning them to keep an eye out for symptoms. The health service has not yet issued any concrete advice regarding what passengers should do if they start showing symptoms.

According to the RIVM, the time between a hantavirus infection and the first symptoms showing can range from a few days to up to 60 days. On average, it takes two to four weeks for symptoms to start showing.

The hantavirus outbreak started on the Dutch cruise ship Hondius. Three passengers have died, including the Dutch woman and her husband. The Dutchman died of an apparent respiratory disease on board the cruise ship on April 11.

The shipping company sounded the alarm last week when another ill passenger, a British national who was receiving intensive care at a hospital in Johannesburg, tested positive for the hantavirus. The Dutch woman, who had already died by that point, was also tested for the virus, and the results came back positive.

Both tested positive for the dangerous Andes variant of the virus, a rare variant that can be transmitted from person to person. Most hantavirus variants spread through rodent droppings and urine. According to the WHO, there are now seven cases of hantavirus on the Hondius, including the three people who died.

Health authorities are working on getting the remaining passengers off the cruise ship. Three people were evacuated from the ship on Wednesday, with two landing at Schiphol Airport around 8:00 p.m on Wednesday and the third on Thursday morning.

The two who landed on Wednesday were transported to hospitals in Leiden and Düsseldorf, Germany. The patient in Germany is believed to be a 65-year-old German woman who is closely related to one of the three passengers on the cruise ship who died. The German emergency services said that she was in a stable condition and showing no symptoms of the hantavirus.

The patient taken to Leiden University Medical Center is a 56-year-old British man, Hondius crew member Martin Anstee. He told Sky News that he was feeling okay, but was still being tested for the virus. He is in isolation in the Leiden hospital.

The passenger on board the flight that landed on Thursday morning is likely a 41-year-old Dutchman, NOS reported. Ambulances received him at Schiphol Airport. The health authorities did not disclose where he will be treated.

In addition to these three patients, the person who first tested positive for the hantavirus is still in intensive care in South Africa, and a Swiss national with symptoms was admitted to a hospital in Zurich on Wednesday. His partner is in self-isolation as a precaution.

About 150 people are still on board the Hondius, including 10 Dutch. The ship departed from the coast of Cape Verde last night and is en route to the Canary Island of Tenerife. It is expected to dock there on Saturday, after which the remaining passengers who aren’t showing symptoms can disembark, according to NOS.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5863304&forum_id=2id.#49871850)