Three people are dead and a British national is in intensive care in South Africa after a suspected hantavirus outbreak aboard the MV Hondius, a polar expedition cruise ship currently sailing through the Atlantic Ocean. The World Health Organization confirmed Sunday that one case had been laboratory verified, with five additional suspected cases under active investigation. The ship departed Ushuaia, Argentina, on March 20 and was scheduled to reach Cape Verde on May 4.
What happened to the three people who died
The first victim was a 70-year-old passenger who developed symptoms and died while still on board. His body was taken to Saint Helena, a British territory in the South Atlantic. The second victim was his 69-year-old wife, who fell ill on board as well and was medically evacuated to South Africa, where she died at a hospital in Johannesburg. A source familiar with the case told the AFP news agency the couple were Dutch nationals.
The third death was confirmed while the ship was still at sea. At the time of reporting, discussions were underway regarding whether two other sick passengers should be isolated at a hospital in Cape Verde before the vessel continued toward Spain’s Canary Islands. A fourth passenger, a British national, remained in intensive care in South Africa as of Sunday.
What the MV Hondius is and who was on board
The MV Hondius is operated by Oceanwide Expeditions, a Dutch-based polar tour company. The vessel measures 107.6 meters in length and carries up to 170 passengers across 80 cabins. The ship is staffed by 57 crew members, 13 guides and one on-board physician. According to ship-tracking data, the MV Hondius was positioned off the port of Praia, the capital of Cape Verde, on Sunday.
The UK Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office said it was closely monitoring reports of the outbreak and was prepared to support British nationals affected by the situation if assistance became necessary.
What hantavirus is and how people contract it
Hantavirus is a family of viruses capable of causing hemorrhagic fever and, in some strains, severe respiratory illness. People typically contract hantaviruses through contact with infected rodents, their droppings or urine, or by inhaling contaminated dust particles. Different strains circulate in different parts of the world and can produce varying symptoms. Person-to-person transmission is considered rare but has occurred in specific documented cases.
The WHO is currently conducting epidemiological investigations and sequencing the virus to identify the precise strain involved in the outbreak aboard the MV Hondius. The organization has said the situation warrants careful monitoring and a coordinated medical response.
How international health authorities are responding
South Africa’s health officials were among the first to alert the broader public health community to the developing situation. The country’s health spokesperson initially described the cases as a severe acute respiratory illness outbreak before laboratory results confirmed hantavirus in the patient evacuated to Johannesburg.
The WHO confirmed it was informed of the event and is actively supporting the response. The organization said it was coordinating between national health authorities and the ship’s operators to arrange medical evacuations for passengers still showing symptoms. Medical care was being provided to everyone on board as decisions were made about the remainder of the voyage.
What remains unresolved about the outbreak
Several significant questions remain open. The specific hantavirus strain has not yet been publicly identified, and investigators have not confirmed how passengers aboard the ship were exposed to the virus at sea. Hantavirus transmission typically involves direct or indirect contact with infected rodents, and the circumstances under which that exposure may have occurred on a polar cruise vessel have not been explained.
The ship’s route and point of origin in Argentina is one area investigators are likely examining. Ushuaia sits at the southern tip of South America, a region where certain hantavirus strains are known to circulate. Whether the exposure happened on land before boarding or somewhere during the voyage is a question the WHO’s ongoing investigation is working to answer.
