The World Health Organization has confirmed five hantavirus infections among people connected to the cruise ship MV Hondius, as health authorities across multiple countries race to trace and contain the outbreak. According to Antigua News Room, three people — a Dutch couple and a German national — have died since the vessel departed Argentina last month.
The first suspected case was a 70-year-old Dutch man who fell ill on board with a fever, headache, abdominal pain and diarrhea. He died on the ship on April 11, South Africa's Health Department told CNN.
As of Thursday, 146 passengers from 23 countries remain aboard the vessel under what operator Oceanwide Expeditions described as "strict precautionary measures." At least 30 passengers disembarked at the remote South Atlantic island of Saint Helena in late April, and several critical cases were air-evacuated to Europe earlier this week. Those still on board are scheduled to arrive in Spain's Canary Islands this weekend before being flown to their respective home countries. Spanish authorities confirmed the ship is expected to dock in Tenerife around noon local time on Sunday.
The situation has drawn international attention as passengers dispersed across multiple countries before the outbreak was fully understood, prompting comparisons to the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic. Oceanwide Expeditions said Thursday it was working to establish details of all passengers and crew who embarked and disembarked at various stops since March 20.
Despite the widespread concern, the WHO said it does not anticipate a large epidemic and stressed there is no evidence of a widespread transmission risk. The outbreak has been linked to the Andes strain of hantavirus, a rare but potentially severe virus that can, in some cases, spread between humans through close contact.
How the outbreak began remains unclear. However, WHO is working on the assumption that the Dutch couple who died were infected before boarding, possibly while sightseeing in Argentina. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters Thursday that the first two cases "travelled through Argentina, Chile and Uruguay on a bird-watching trip which included visits to sites where the species of rat known to carry the virus was present."
Because hantavirus typically incubates for one to six weeks before symptoms appear, health officials believe the couple fell ill some time after the initial exposure. The WHO said it is "working with relevant countries to support international contact tracing, to ensure that those potentially exposed are monitored and that any further disease spread is limited."
