Lethal outbreak on the high seas: 3 dead and several infected by suspected hantavirus on a cruise ship
WHO confirms one infection and warns of five other possible infections on board the ship sailing the Atlantic.
A general view of the cruise ship MV Hondius anchored off the port of Praia (File).
Three passengers on a cruise ship sailing the Atlantic have died amid a health alert for suspected hantavirus infection, the World Health Organization said.
The agency confirmed one case through laboratory tests and said there are five other suspected cases. Of the six people affected, three have died and one remains in critical condition in South Africa.
Unusual outbreak on the high seas
The focus of the alert is on the cruise ship MV Hondius, which was carrying about 150 passengers of various nationalities.
The vessel had sailed from Ushuaia (Argentina) bound for the Canary Islands (Spain), making stops at multiple points in the Atlantic, including Antarctica, the Falkland Islands, South Georgia and several remote islands until reaching Cape Verde, where it currently remains off the coast.
According to South African health authorities, some passengers were transferred to medical facilities after presenting severe symptoms of an acute respiratory infection not initially identified.
">WHO is aware of and supporting a public health event involving a cruise vessel sailing in the Atlantic Ocean. To date, one case of hantavirus infection has been laboratory confirmed, and there are five additional suspected cases. Of the six affected individuals, three have died… pic.twitter.com/SqMAAZzoID
— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) May 3, 2026
Severe cases and deaths
According to official information, two of the deaths occurred on board the ship and a third after disembarkation.
One of the confirmed patients, a British citizen, tested positive for hantavirus after being transferred to a hospital in South Africa. Others affected have severe symptoms and require urgent medical attention.
Health authorities have initiated contact tracing in coordination with international agencies to prevent possible spread.
Ongoing investigation
However, he stressed that it has not yet been determined whether hantavirus is directly linked to all the deaths recorded during the voyage.
Health teams have come aboard to assess symptomatic passengers, while medical evacuations are being discussed.
What is hantavirus and how is it transmitted?
Hantavirus is a rare disease transmitted mainly by rodents, especially through inhalation of particles from their droppings or urine.
In its early stages, it causes flu-like symptoms, fever, muscle pain and general malaise, but can progress to severe respiratory complications, pulmonary failure and even death.
Although cruises are often associated with outbreaks of viruses such as norovirus or covid, experts stress that this type of infection is extremely rare in this context.
No immediate risk to the population
The South African authorities have called for calm and assure that the risk to the population is low, as only a limited number of cases have arrived in the country.
The World Health Organization is currently coordinating an international response together with the countries and islands involved in the cruise ship route, with the aim of containing any possible outbreak.
Rare case worries experts
Hantavirus is rarely associated with environments such as cruise ships, which has led to consider different hypotheses about its origin, from exposure to rodents on some scale to a possible - though rare - human-to-human transmission.
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