JOHANNESBURG, May 6 — Three people, two of them seriously ill, were evacuated today from a luxury cruise ship hit by a deadly hantavirus outbreak and marooned for days off the coast of Cape Verde, the World Health Organisation said. The MV Hondius, which has nearly 150 people on board, is expected to head next ‌to Spain’s Canary Islands, ship operator Oceanwide Expeditions said. Three people have so far died in the outbreak. South Africa confirmed that it had identified among the victims the Andean strain of the virus that can — in rare cases — spread among humans. Since the start of the outbreak, the WHO has said the risk to the wider public is low, and it stressed that this continued to be the case.

The Swiss government said a man who returned to Switzerland after being a passenger on the Hondius was infected with the hantavirus and was being treated in Zurich. It said there was no danger to the broader population.

Three evacuated 

“Three suspected #hantavirus case patients have just been evacuated from the ship and are on their way to receive medical care in the Netherlands,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a post on X. The Dutch Foreign Ministry said those evacuated included a Dutch person, a German and a Briton. They will be transported to specialised hospitals in Europe, it added, without giving further details. Two of those evacuated presented acute symptoms, Oceanwide Expeditions said. The third person was closely linked to the German passenger who died on the ship on May 2. The Dutch ministry said that person ‌was possibly infected with the virus. A Dutch couple on the ship have also died, while a British national remains in intensive care in South Africa.

The Swiss case ⁠brings the hantavirus outbreak to a total of eight, three of them confirmed by laboratory ⁠testing, the WHO said, adding that it was helping countries with contact tracing to “ensure that those potentially exposed are monitored ⁠and that any further disease spread is limited”.

The cruise ship MV Hondius, which has been hit by an outbreak of the deadly hantavirus, is moored at an unknown location, in this still image obtained from a social media video released May 5, 2026. — Kasem Ibn Hattuta/social media pic via Reuters

‘Our days ⁠have been close to normal’

Passenger Kasem Hato ⁠told Reuters the ship’s captain was keeping passengers updated and that those on board had been advised to limit close contact with other passengers and use hand sanitiser regularly.

“People are taking the situation seriously but without any panic, trying to keep social distancing and wearing masks to be safe,” he said.

“Our days have been close to normal, just waiting for authorities ⁠to find a solution, but morale on the ship is high and we’re keeping ourselves busy with reading, watching movies, having hot drinks, and that kind of things.”

Cape Verde had been intended as the ship’s final destination, but the archipelago nation off West Africa has not allowed the passengers to come ashore because of the outbreak. Late yesterday, the Spanish Health Ministry said it had agreed, in accordance with international law and humanitarian principles, to a request from the WHO and the European Union to allow the Hondius to dock in Spain. Citing health ministry sources, the broadcaster TVE said that this would be in Tenerife.

The Spanish archipelago’s leader Fernando Clavijo said he was opposed to ⁠the move and requested an urgent meeting with Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez. The decision ultimately belongs to the central government, not regional authorities.

Human-to-human transmission is rare

People are usually infected by hantavirus through contact with infected rodents or their urine, their droppings or their saliva. Human-to-human transmission is rare.

But a limited ⁠spread among close contacts has been observed in some previous outbreaks with the Andes strain, which has spread in South America, including Argentina, where the cruise trip started in March.

A presentation ⁠seen by Reuters said ⁠tests conducted by South Africa’s National Institute for Communicable Diseases showed that the Andes strain was the cause of infection in the Dutch woman who died in Johannesburg as well as in the British man who is still in hospital there.

“This is the only strain that is known to cause human-to-human transmission, but such transmission is very rare and as said earlier, it only happens due ‌to very close contact,” the presentation said.

South Africa’s health ministry has identified 62 contacts including flight crew and healthcare workers. None have been diagnosed with the hantavirus so far. — Reuters

PRAIA, CAPE VERDE, May 4 — With Agnes Pedrero in Geneva and Francois Ausseill in Johannesburg Three people have died on a cruise ship in the Atlantic, the WHO said yesterday, one a confirmed case of hantavirus — an illness usually transmitted to humans from rodents.

The outbreak occurred on the MV Hondius, travelling from Ushuaia in Argentina to Cape Verde.

“To date, one case of hantavirus infection has been laboratory confirmed, and there are five additional suspected cases,” the World Health Organization told AFP.

“Of the six affected individuals, three have died and one is currently in intensive care in South Africa.”

Earlier yesterday, South Africa’s health ministry told AFP there had been an outbreak of a “severe acute respiratory illness”, which had killed at least two people, with a third in intensive care in Johannesburg.

The patient treated in Johannesburg tested positive for a hantavirus, a family of viruses that can cause hemorrhagic fever, South African spokesperson Foster Mohale said.

In its statement, the WHO said hantavirus infections “are typically linked to environmental exposure (exposure to infected rodents’ urine or faeces).

“While rare, hantavirus may spread between people, and can lead to severe respiratory illness and requires careful patient monitoring, support and response.”

Husband and wife 

The first person on the cruise to develop symptoms was a 70-year-old passenger. He died on board the ship and his body was currently on the island of Saint Helena, a British territory in the South Atlantic, Mohale the South African spokesman said.

His 69-year-old wife also fell ill on board and was evacuated to South Africa, where she died in a Johannesburg hospital, he said, adding that they were not yet able to confirm the victims’ nationalities.

The third case, a 69-year-old Briton, was also evacuated to Johannesburg, where he was being treated in intensive care.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a post on X that the agency was working with the ship’s operators and member states affected.

“WHO is facilitating medical evacuation of two symptomatic passengers, conducting a full risk assessment, and supporting affected people onboard,” he added.

“Rapid, coordinated action is critical to contain risks and protect public health.”

Earlier yesterday, a source close to the case speaking on condition of anonymity had said a Dutch couple were among the dead. The third fatality was still on board the ship.

Discussions were under way to decide whether two other sick passengers should be placed in isolation in hospital in Cape Verde, after which the ship would continue to Spain’s Canary Islands, the anonymous source said.

The MV Hondius is listed as a polar cruise ship on the websites of several travel agencies. It is operated by a Dutch-based tour company, Oceanwide Expeditions.

One of the cruises offers an itinerary departing from Ushuaia for Cape Verde, with stops in the islands of South Georgia and Saint Helena.

According to several online ship-tracking sites, the MV Hondius was just off the port of Praia, the capital of Cape Verde, yesterday.

The vessel can accommodate around 170 passengers and has some 70 crew members.

Humans can catch hantaviruses from contact with infected mice or rats or their droppings, or being bitten or inhaling contaminated dust. There are multiple types of hantaviruses in different parts of the world, with different symptoms.

AFP contacted the cruise operator Oceanwide Expeditions but has not yet had a reply. — AFP