Atlantic Cruise ship Hantavirus outbreak: What we know so far

Subscribed with another email? Logout and Login with that one. Account subscription benefits alongside Premium Stories, Editorials, Opinions and more. Unlock these with Subscription The View From India Looking at World Affairs from the Indian perspective. First Day First Show News and reviews from the world of cinema and streaming. Today's Cache Your download of the top 5 technology stories of the day. Science For All The weekly newsletter from science writers takes the jargon out of science and puts the fun in! Data Point Decoding the headlines with facts, figures, and numbers THEdge At the cutting edge of education and careers Health Matters Ramya Kannan writes to you on getting to good health, and staying there Gender Agenda Stories from beyond the binary. The Hindu On Books Books of the week, reviews, excerpts, new titles and features. A boat beside cruise ship MV Hondius anchored off Cape Verde port, on the day sick passengers were evacuated by boat from the cruise ship, in Praia Port, Cape Verde, in this screengrab obtained from a video, May 5, 2026. | Photo Credit: Reuters The recent outbreak of hantavirus on the MV Hondius cruise ship has raised significant health concerns, as three individuals have reportedly died. The World Health Organization (WHO) has confirmed two cases of the deadly hantavirus, and five more are suspected among people who were on a luxury cruise ship now held in the Atlantic near Cape Verde. The three fatalities were a Dutch couple and a German national, and a British national was evacuated from the ship from Ascension and is being treated in South Africa, officials have said. Here’s what we know so far about the deadly outbreak in MV Hondius cruise ship. Hantavirus is a viral infection primarily associated with rodent excreta, urine, and saliva, and it can lead to severe, potentially fatal illnesses, including hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) and hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS), which can cause respiratory issues and other serious health complications. Hantaviruses are found globally, with occurrences in various regions of Europe, Africa, and Asia. The MV Hondius departed from southern Argentina on April 1, 2026. On April 6, a 70-year-old Dutch man experienced symptoms including fever, headache, and mild diarrhoea, as reported by the WHO. He passed away on April 11 after developing respiratory distress while the ship was situated between the British island territories of South Georgia and St. Helena in the South Atlantic, according to data from the ship tracking site MarineTraffic. Oceanwide Expeditions, the cruise company, stated that the cause of death could not be identified. From our archives: Emerging pathogens: what does the future hold? The ship continued its journey for nearly two weeks, making a stop near Tristan da Cunha before arriving at St. Helena, where the Dutch man’s body was removed from the ship on April 24. His 69-year-old wife accompanied the body and flew to South Africa, but she began to exhibit symptoms as well and fell seriously ill during the flight on April 25, collapsing at an airport in South Africa. She died in a hospital on April 26, according to the WHO. The third fatality, a German woman, died on the ship, again after it had set sail for a new destination — this time Cape Verde. She died four days after falling ill and also had signs of pneumonia, WHO said, which can be caused by hantavirus. Her body is still on the ship. Another passenger, a British man, became sick on the ship after it left St. Helena and sailed to tiny Ascension Island. He had a high fever, shortness of breath and signs of pneumonia, according to WHO, and was evacuated from Ascension Island to South Africa on April 27. He is in an intensive care unit in a South African hospital. On Sunday (May 3), the WHO announced it was investigating the suspected hantavirus outbreak on the ship, which had by that time reached Cape Verde waters. The British man's positive test prompted South African health authorities to also test the Dutch woman's body posthumously for hantavirus. That test came back positive on Monday. WHO said the outbreak on the ship was being managed and the global risk was low as hantavirus is not easily spread between people, though it added it was tracing people who were on a passenger plane between St. Helena and Johannesburg, South Africa, with the Dutch woman. Passengers and crew have been isolated in cabins with “maximal physical distancing,” WHO said, in a lockdown reminiscent of the COVID-19 pandemic. WHO says it is still investigating how a virus that is relatively rare in people got on board the ship. It said the Dutch man and his wife — whom it called cases one and two — had travelled in Argentina and elsewhere in South America before they boarded. The infection leads to flu-like symptoms, including fever, muscle aches, and fatigue, appearing 1 to 8 weeks after exposure. This is followed by a severe respiratory p

Atlantic Cruise ship Hantavirus outbreak: What we know so far

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Atlantic Cruise ship Hantavirus outbreak: What we know so far

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