The World Health Organization and South Africa’s Department of Health reported Sunday that a suspected outbreak of hantavirus on a cruise ship in the Atlantic Ocean has resulted in three deaths and at least three additional illnesses. Among the deceased is an elderly married couple.
According to a WHO statement, at least one case has been confirmed through laboratory testing. One patient is currently in intensive care at a South African hospital, and authorities are working to evacuate two other symptomatic individuals from the vessel.
The Dutch-operated cruise ship, the MV Hondius, remains off the coast of Cape Verde, an island nation near West Africa. Local authorities have not permitted anyone to disembark, though they are providing assistance. The two crew members requiring urgent care remain onboard.
Hantaviruses are a family of pathogens typically spread through contact with rodent urine or feces. While rare, they can cause severe respiratory or kidney disease. The virus gained recent attention after Betsy Arakawa, the wife of actor Gene Hackman, died from an infection in New Mexico. Hackman himself died of heart disease about a week later.
WHO noted that human-to-human transmission is possible, though uncommon. There is no specific treatment, but early medical intervention improves survival chances. “Detailed investigations are ongoing, including further laboratory testing and epidemiological investigations,” WHO said.
The cruise departed Argentina three weeks ago, with planned stops in Antarctica and the Falkland Islands before heading to Spain’s Canary Islands. The first victim, a 70-year-old man, died onboard, and his body was removed in Saint Helena. His wife collapsed at an airport in South Africa while trying to return to the Netherlands and later died at a hospital.
A British national is in intensive care in Johannesburg after falling ill near Ascension Island. South Africa’s National Institute for Communicable Diseases is conducting contact tracing in the Johannesburg area to identify potential exposures. The ship carried approximately 150 passengers and around 70 crew members.
Oceanwide Expeditions, the company operating the cruise, confirmed that the third victim’s body remains on the ship in Cape Verde. The company’s priority is securing medical care for the two ill crew members. “Local health authorities have visited the vessel to assess the condition of the two symptomatic individuals,” the company said. “They are yet to make a decision regarding the transfer of these individuals into medical care in Cape Verde.”
WHO is collaborating with national authorities and the ship’s operators to conduct a full public health risk assessment and provide support to those still onboard. The outbreak is a stark reminder of the risks posed by rare pathogens in confined settings like cruise ships.
For context, recent health alerts have highlighted other outbreaks, such as a drug-resistant salmonella outbreak linked to backyard poultry and a measles outbreak in South Carolina that infected nearly 1,000. These incidents underscore the importance of robust public health surveillance and response systems.
