Three people have died after a suspected hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship in the Atlantic Ocean. Health officials have confirmed at least one case while tracking several others tied to the voyage.
The outbreak was identified aboard the MV Hondius, a Dutch-flagged cruise ship carrying roughly 150 passengers on a weeks-long route from South America toward Europe, according to reporting from the Associated Press and The New York Times. It had stops that included Antarctica and several remote South Atlantic islands before docking in Cape Verde.
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Deaths reported across multiple locations
The first fatality was a 70-year-old passenger who became sick during the voyage and died after the ship reached Saint Helena, according to the AP. His wife later developed symptoms and collapsed at an airport in South Africa while attempting to return home, dying shortly after being hospitalized, the AP reported.
A third passenger died after becoming ill during the same stretch of the trip, according to The Times. Another patient, identified as a British national, tested positive for hantavirus and is being treated in intensive care in South Africa, according to health officials cited by the AP.
Health authorities have identified at least two other passengers with symptoms and are evaluating their condition and arranging further treatment.
Rare virus not typically linked to cruise ships
Hantavirus is a family of viruses carried by rodents and is most often transmitted through exposure to infected droppings or urine. Cases are rare but can escalate quickly, leading to severe respiratory illness.
Specialists note that this type of infection is usually not associated with cruise ships, where outbreaks more often involve viruses that spread directly from person to person, like norovirus or COVID-19.
Hantavirus infections are typically tied to environmental exposure, often in enclosed spaces with rodent activity.
Investigators are examining whether exposure likely occurred onboard or at one of the ship’s stops. While most hantavirus strains do not spread between people, limited human-to-human transmission has been documented in certain variants.
WHO coordinating international response
The World Health Organization is coordinating with health authorities and the ship’s operator to assess the outbreak and manage the response. Contact tracing is now underway in South Africa, where some of the affected passengers are receiving treatment.
Officials say the broader public risk remains low.
There is no cure or vaccine for hantavirus, though early medical care can improve survival rates.
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