Footage obtained by The Associated Press from the cruise ship at the center of a rare-virus outbreak shows deserted decks and gathering areas, medical personnel in white protective suits, and an endless stretch of calm Atlantic as the MV Hondius waits off the coast of West Africa. Three passengers are dead and at least four others are ill in what the World Health Organization says is an outbreak of hantavirus, an illness usually contracted by inhaling contaminated rodent droppings but now under scrutiny for person-to-person spread.
The Hondius, a Dutch-flagged expedition vessel operated by Oceanwide Expeditions, departed Argentina on April 1 for a weekslong polar cruise to Antarctica and isolated islands in the South Atlantic. Since then, the outbreak has unfolded across hemispheres. The first death, a Dutch man, occurred April 11. His body was removed from the ship nearly two weeks later on the British territory of St. Helena, according to South Africa’s Department of Health. His wife, who traveled from St. Helena to South Africa, collapsed at a Johannesburg airport and died April 26. A sick British man was taken off the ship at Ascension Island and evacuated to South Africa, where he remains in intensive care, WHO said.
The WHO’s director of epidemic and pandemic preparedness, Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, said Tuesday the agency is investigating possible human-to-human transmission on the ship — a route that health authorities say might be possible but is not typical. She said officials suspect the first infected person likely contracted the virus before boarding, and noted authorities have been told there are no rats on the vessel. Argentina’s health ministry confirmed no passengers had symptoms when the Hondius departed, though symptoms can appear up to eight weeks after exposure.
Aboard the anchored ship, the mood is one of anxious waiting. Passenger Qasem Elhato, 31, who sent video to the AP, described days as “close to normal” and said “morale on the ship is high and we’re keeping ourselves busy with reading, watching movies, having hot drinks and that kind of things.” He noted passengers wore masks and distanced socially. Helene Goessaert, another passenger, told Belgian broadcaster VRT that everyone on board is “in the same boat, literally,” and said the novelty of fresh fruit and vegetables delivered that day was a morale boost. “You don’t embark on a trip with the idea that one of your fellow passengers won’t make it,” she said.
Oceanwide Expeditions said Tuesday evening it was sending two specialized aircraft to Cape Verde to evacuate two people needing urgent medical care and one person who was traveling with a German woman who died on board Saturday. The three will be taken to the Netherlands, though the timeline remained unclear. Once the evacuation happens, the ship plans to sail roughly three days to the Canary Islands — either Gran Canaria or Tenerife — though Spanish health officials said they are still monitoring and have not decided on the most appropriate port.
Authorities in Cape Verde’s capital, Praia, said they sent teams of doctors, surgeons, nurses and laboratory specialists to the Hondius. Officials have stepped up safety protocols near the port as a precaution against the rodent-borne illness. In South Africa, health authorities have begun contact tracing, a practice widely used during the COVID-19 pandemic, but emphasized the chance of a major public health threat is low.
Oceanwide Expeditions said it had activated its highest response level, with isolation measures, hygiene protocols and medical monitoring in place. WHO officials said they continue to work with national authorities and that the ship’s experience underscores the complexity of managing infectious disease threats in mobile international environments.