3 patients are evacuated from cruise ship with hantavirus outbreak

Three Patients Evacuated from Cruise Ship Amid Rare Hantavirus Outbreak

Three patients with suspected hantavirus infections were evacuated Wednesday from a cruise ship off Cape Verde to the Netherlands, according to the World Health Organization. The MV Hondius remains anchored with nearly 150 people on board as they await clearance to continue their journey to Spain’s Canary Islands.

Health workers in protective gear boarded the vessel to facilitate the evacuation, which included the ship’s British doctor, previously reported to be in “serious condition” but now improving. An air ambulance departed shortly after the medical team arrived.

The Dutch foreign ministry confirmed the evacuees included a 41-year-old Dutch national, a 56-year-old British national, and a 65-year-old German national. They will be transferred to specialized hospitals across Europe. According to Oceanwide Expeditions, the Dutch operator of the vessel, two remain in “serious condition,” while the third shows no symptoms but was “closely associated” with a German passenger who died on the ship on May 2.

The outbreak has claimed three lives so far, with one body still remaining on the ship. Of eight cases recorded, three have been confirmed through laboratory testing.

Authorities report the passengers tested positive for the Andes virus, a type of hantavirus primarily found in South America, particularly Argentina and Chile. The virus typically spreads through inhalation of contaminated rodent droppings, though person-to-person transmission is rare and usually requires close contact.

“This is not the next COVID, but it is a serious infectious disease,” said Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO’s top epidemic expert. “Most people will never be exposed to this.” She noted that the WHO has never before documented a hantavirus outbreak on a ship.

Two Argentine officials investigating the outbreak’s origins, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the leading hypothesis is that a Dutch couple contracted the virus while bird-watching in Ushuaia, Argentina, before boarding the ship on April 1. The couple reportedly visited a landfill during their tour, potentially exposing them to rodents carrying the virus. Notably, authorities had previously stated that Ushuaia and the surrounding Tierra del Fuego province have never recorded a hantavirus case.

The MV Hondius departed South America on April 1 for a voyage that included stops in Antarctica and several remote Atlantic islands, including South Georgia, Nightingale Island, Tristan da Cunha, St. Helena, and Ascension.

Health officials report that the remaining passengers and crew members show no symptoms and are isolating in their cabins. The journey to the Canary Islands is expected to take three to four days. Spain’s health ministry has assured that the arrival “won’t represent any risk for the public.” Nevertheless, Fernando Clavijo, the Canary Islands regional president, has expressed concerns about potential risks to the population and requested a meeting with Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.

The outbreak has triggered an international effort to trace former passengers who disembarked at various ports. Swiss authorities confirmed that a former passenger who left the ship at St. Helena later tested positive and is now being treated at a Zurich hospital. The patient’s travel route between St. Helena and Switzerland remains unclear, raising questions about potential exposure in other countries. The patient’s wife has not shown symptoms but is self-isolating as a precaution.

South African health officials are also working to trace potential contacts after two passengers were transferred there. One, a British man, was placed in intensive care, while the other collapsed and died in South Africa. The South African health ministry reports they have traced 42 out of 62 people believed to have had contact with the infected passengers, including health workers. All 42 have tested negative for hantavirus, but 20 individuals remain to be located, including five people who may have been on flights with some passengers, as well as flight crew members.

The hantavirus incubation period can range from one to six weeks or longer, according to WHO experts. Van Kerkhove emphasized that access to clinical care is crucial for infected individuals, who can develop severe acute respiratory distress requiring oxygen or mechanical ventilation. Two Dutch infectious disease experts are joining the ship to provide additional medical support.

As health authorities continue their investigation, the focus remains on containing the outbreak and preventing further spread of this rare virus.