In footage obtained by The Associated Press, the cruise ship at the center of a rare hantavirus outbreak off Cape Verde has largely empty decks and gathering areas, with medical teams in protective gear seen going ashore to provide support as the vessel and its nearly 150 passengers and crew waited another day. AP’s video also shows people preparing in ways that echo pandemic-era precautions, including face masks and distancing practices onboard, as authorities coordinate evacuation plans and investigations on how the virus spread in this setting.
Health officials said three passengers have died and at least four people have been sick in what they described as an outbreak of hantavirus. The virus is typically spread when people inhale contaminated rodent droppings, and officials said the situation can still present risks in close quarters, even as they evaluate whether person-to-person transmission might be possible in this outbreak.
The World Health Organization said in its latest update that there are seven cases in all: three deaths, one critically ill passenger who had been taken off the ship earlier, and three others on board reporting mild symptoms. WHO said two of the cases—a woman who died and the evacuated man—tested positive for hantavirus, and it is examining whether human-to-human transmission could be occurring on the ship.
WHO’s Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove said the organization is investigating possible human-to-human transmission on the MV Hondius and that officials suspect the first infected person likely contracted the virus before boarding. She also said officials have been told there are no rats on board. In parallel, authorities in Cape Verde have said they increased safety protocols, especially near the port, as a precaution against the rodent-borne illness.
Cape Verdean officials said they sent teams of doctors, surgeons, nurses and laboratory specialists to the Hondius, and AP’s footage showed the teams wearing white overalls, boots and face masks as they disembarked from a smaller vessel. Oceanwide Expeditions, the operator of the Dutch ship, said it had implemented its highest level of response, including isolation measures, hygiene protocols and medical monitoring, while the ship remained anchored off the coast.
Passengers described a mix of caution and routine while they waited for authorities to decide on evacuation and next steps. Qasem Elhato, a 31-year-old passenger who sent AP the video footage via WhatsApp, said, “Our days have been close to normal, just waiting for authorities to find a solution,” and that “morale on the ship is high” as people kept busy reading and watching movies and having “hot drinks and that kind of things.” Another passenger, Helene Goessaert, told Belgian broadcaster VRT that everyone onboard was “in the same boat, literally,” and she said, “You don’t embark on a trip with the idea that one of your fellow passengers won’t make it.”
Operator and government officials said the evacuation timeline remained uncertain even as plans were taking shape. Oceanwide Expeditions said two specialized aircraft were flying to Cape Verde to evacuate two people who needed urgent medical care and one person who was traveling with a German woman who died on board Saturday; the company said the evacuees were to be taken to the Netherlands, though when that would happen was not immediately clear. Once the medical evacuations are complete, the company said the ship plans to sail to the Canary Islands—either Gran Canaria or Tenerife—a voyage of about three days, with “discussions … ongoing with relevant authorities.”
Spanish health officials said earlier that they were monitoring the situation and that the “most appropriate port of call will be decided.” They added that until then, Spain’s Ministry of Health would not adopt any decision, as it had informed the World Health Organization. Authorities in Argentina, where the ship had departed from April 1, said they confirmed no passengers had symptoms when the Hondius left, while they noted that symptoms can appear up to eight weeks after exposure.
WHO’s update also described how the case sequence unfolded across multiple locations. It said a Dutch man died on April 11, and that his body was removed from the ship nearly two weeks later on the British territory of St. Helena, about 1,200 miles (1,900 kilometers) off the African coast, according to South Africa’s Department of Health. WHO said the man’s wife traveled from St. Helena to South Africa by plane and died in a Johannesburg hospital after collapsing at the airport on April 26, according to WHO and the South African Department of Health.
For a British man who became ill later, WHO said the ship sailed on to Ascension Island—about 800 miles (1,300 kilometers) north of the African coast—and he was taken off the ship there and evacuated first to Ascension Island and then to South Africa by plane. WHO said he was in intensive care in a South African hospital.
In South Africa, authorities said they had started contact tracing for people linked to the ship, a public-health practice used during the coronavirus pandemic. They emphasized that the chance of a major public health threat is low.
An earlier version of this story incorrectly referred to the passenger who died on board Saturday as a German man; it has been corrected to reflect that a German woman died.