Three passengers have died and three others are critically ill in a suspected outbreak of hantavirus aboard the MV Hondius, a Dutch‑flagged cruise ship that has been denied port by Cabo Verde since Sunday, according to the World Health Organization and the vessel’s operator. The deaths include a Dutch man, 70, who died aboard on April 11, his wife, 69, who collapsed at Johannesburg’s airport after being evacuated and later died, and a German passenger whose body remains on the ship. Two crew members — one British, one Dutch — are suffering respiratory symptoms and need urgent care, while a British man airlifted to South Africa on April 27 is the only confirmed hantavirus case and is in critical condition. Among the 87 remaining passengers are 17 Americans, 19 Britons, and 13 Spaniards; 61 crew are also on board.
The Hondius, operated by Netherlands‑based Oceanwide Expeditions, set sail from Ushuaia in southern Argentina on April 1 on an “Atlantic Odyssey” itinerary that included Antarctica, the Falkland Islands, South Georgia, and other remote South Atlantic islands. The first victim, the Dutch man, developed fever, headache, abdominal pain and diarrhea before he died. His body was offloaded at the British territory of St. Helena almost two weeks later. His wife was transferred to South Africa at the same time but collapsed at Johannesburg’s OR Tambo International Airport and died in hospital, South African health officials said.
Arriving off the Cape Verde island on Sunday, the Hondius requested medical assistance. But Cabo Verde’s health ministry said Monday it would not permit the ship to dock because of public health concerns, ordering it to remain in open water. Dr. Ann Lindstrand, a WHO official in Cabo Verde, told the Associated Press that it had been “very complicated” for the local authorities and that they were dealing with a public health event while trying to protect the population. The WHO sent a medical team of two doctors, a nurse, and a laboratory specialist to the vessel in three trips, she said.
The WHO is planning medical evacuations for the two seriously ill crew members, with plans to move them by ambulance to an airport and fly them out of the country. Oceanwide Expeditions said it was still awaiting permission from Cabo Verde and might consider sailing to Las Palmas or Tenerife in Spain if necessary. The Dutch foreign ministry said it, too, was exploring evacuation possibilities.
South Africa’s National Institute for Communicable Diseases is tracing contacts of the woman who died at the airport, where she was waiting for a flight to the Netherlands. The health department urged the public not to panic, stressing that the WHO is coordinating a multinational response to contain further spread. Hantavirus is spread by contact with rodents or their urine, saliva, or droppings; human‑to‑human transmission is rare. There is no specific treatment, but early medical care can improve survival chances.
Argentina’s health ministry, meanwhile, said it was following the cases and coordinating with international agencies and local provinces. It noted that Tierra del Fuego, where the ship docked in Ushuaia, has had no recorded hantavirus cases since national reporting began in 1996, and that neighboring Santa Cruz province has been without cases for seven years. The ministry is gathering information on passengers’ health status and travel histories to assess potential epidemiological links. A previous hantavirus outbreak in southern Argentina in 2019 killed at least nine people, prompting a judge to order residents of a remote town to stay home for 30 days.
Hans Henri P. Kluge, WHO regional director for Europe, stressed that while the disease is serious in some cases, it does not transmit easily between people and that the risk to the general public remains low. There is no need for panic or travel restrictions, he said. The Hondius, which typically carries a doctor among its crew, has capacity for 170 passengers; Oceanwide Expeditions advertises 33‑ and 43‑night “Atlantic Odyssey” cruises to remote destinations.