The World Health Organization (WHO) said that it believes there could have been human-to-human transmission of hantavirus on a cruise ship carrying almost 150 passengers, with 4 Canadian passengers confirmed on board.
Hantavirus is a rodent-borne illness, however the WHO said that on this case it might have been spread amongst “really close contacts” aboard the MV Hondius, travelling from Argentina to Cape Verde.
“Some people on the ship were couples, they were sharing rooms, in order that’s quite intimate contact,” Van Kerkhove, the WHO’s director of epidemic and pandemic preparedness, said, adding that the cruise also stopped at several islands off the coast of Africa, a few of which “have a whole lot of rodents.”
“There could possibly be some source of infection on the islands as well for a few of the other suspect cases,” she said. “Nevertheless, we do consider that there could also be some human-to-human transmission that’s happening among the many really close contacts,” reminiscent of those that have shared cabins.
“One patient is in intensive care in South Africa, although we understand that this patient is improving,” she said, while two patients still on board the ship are being prepared for medical evacuation to the Netherlands for treatment.
As a precaution, passengers have been asked to stay of their cabins while disinfection and other public measures are carried out, the WHO revealed.
There isn’t any specific treatment or cure for hantavirus, but early medical attention can increase the prospect of survival.
“Typically, people will develop respiratory symptoms, so respiratory support is actually vital,” Van Kerkhove said, explaining that some people require mechanical ventilation and intensive care treatment.
Van Kerkhove addressed the people on the cruise ship, saying, “We just want you to know we’re working with the ship’s operators” and with the travellers’ countries of origin.
“We hear you. We all know that you just are scared,” she said. “We’re attempting to ensure that that the ship has as much information as they will … that you just’re cared for and naturally, that you just get home safely.”
In an announcement shared on Tuesday, the WHO said, “Since 1 April when the boat set sail, of the 147 passengers and crew, 7 people have grow to be in poor health, amongst whom 3 have died, 1 is critically in poor health and three are reporting mild symptoms.”
“Based on the present information, including how hantavirus spreads, WHO assesses the chance to the worldwide population from this event as low,” the statement added. “We’re working closely with health authorities from the countries involved and the ship’s operators to make sure passengers and crew get the knowledge and support they need.”
The WHO said it should “proceed to observe the situation and update the chance assessment as more information becomes available.”
Two of the individuals who died were identified as a Dutch couple, a person aged 70 and a lady aged 69.
The person died on arrival on the island of St. Helena. The girl, who also became in poor health on board, was evacuated to South Africa, where she died in a Johannesburg hospital, South African Health Ministry spokesperson Foster Mohale said in an announcement to Global News.
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“On 2 May, one other passenger on board died. The cause has not yet been established. This passenger was of German nationality,” based on Oceanwide Expeditions, the Dutch company that operates the cruise ship.
Cruise ship stranded as sick crew await evacuation
The MV Hondius, a Dutch ship on a weeks-long polar cruise from Argentina to Antarctica and a number of other isolated islands within the South Atlantic, has been waiting for help after authorities on the island of Cape Verde, off the West African coast, refused to permit passengers to disembark on account of public health concerns.
Footage obtained by The Associated Press showed the ship’s decks mostly deserted, with only just a few people wearing medical masks moving about. Common halls were empty as passengers were isolated of their cabins. Not less than five individuals with full protective gear, white overalls, boots and face masks, were seen disembarking from the ship right into a small vessel.
Authorities in Cape Verde sent teams of doctors, surgeons, nurses and laboratory specialists to supply the vessel with medical support.
Officials in Cape Verde’s capital of Praia, a city of lower than 200,000 people, said they’ve stepped up safety protocols, particularly near the port, as a precautionary measure against the rodent-borne illness.
The ship’s Netherlands-based operator, Oceanwide Expeditions, said it might consider moving the vessel to one among the Spanish islands, Tenerife or the port of Las Palmas, if it could’t evacuate passengers to Cape Verde.
Van Kerkhove told reporters in Geneva on Tuesday that the plan at the moment is for the ship “to proceed on to the Canary Islands.”
“We’re working with Spanish authorities, who will welcome the ship,” Van Kerkhove said.
The Spanish health ministry said in an announcement Tuesday it was “conducting close monitoring, along with the World Health Organization and other involved countries, of the situation on the ship … (and) essentially the most appropriate port of call can be decided. Until then, the Ministry of Health is not going to adopt any decision, as now we have informed the World Health Organization.”
Update from Oceanwide Expeditions
In an update from Oceanwide Expeditions, it said that the atmosphere on board “stays calm, with passengers generally composed.”
The corporate said that the response plan implemented on board was at the best level, three, and includes isolation measures, hygiene protocols and medical monitoring.
“Oceanwide Expeditions continues to take care of a serious medical situation on board m/v Hondius, which stays at anchor off the coast of Cape Verde,” the corporate said in a press release.
“Oceanwide Expeditions can confirm, via the WHO, that a variant of hantavirus has been identified as being present in the feminine Dutch national who passed away on 27 April 2026 after disembarkation in Saint Helena. This brings the overall variety of confirmed hantavirus cases to 2,” the corporate added.
Oceanwide Expedition said its team members “are working diligently to support all individuals on board and uphold stringent health and safety procedures as a part of Oceanwide Expeditions’ SHIELD response plan.”
“Dutch authorities are actively preparing a medical evacuation of the 2 symptomatic individuals together with the person related to the guest that passed away on 2 May,” the corporate said. “This can involve two specialized aircraft equipped with the obligatory medical equipment and staffed by trained medical crews.”
Oceanwide Expedition added that an accurate timeline of the operation “is currently unknown” and can be shared in an extra update.
“Local health authorities have visited the vessel and assessed the situation. The medical transfer of the 2 in poor health individuals on board has not yet taken place. Close cooperation continues with local and international authorities, including the WHO, the RIVM, relevant embassies and the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” the corporate added.
It also confirmed that guests is not going to be disembarking in Cape Verde, “apart from the three individuals who’re planned to be medically evacuated.”
“At this stage, a definitive disembarkation point for the remaining guests on board m/v Hondius has not been finalized,” the press release said.
In an extra update on Tuesday, Oceanwide Expeditions said, “At this stage, no recent symptomatic individuals on board have been identified beyond those previously reported.”
The corporate also noted that the vessel stays off the coast of Cape Verde and “discussions with the relevant authorities regarding next steps for m/v Hondius, including possible disembarkation and routing, are ongoing.”
Hantavirus is principally spread by contact with rodents or their urine, saliva or droppings, particularly when the fabric is disturbed and becomes airborne, posing a risk of inhalation, based on the federal government of Canada.
Individuals are typically exposed to hantavirus around their homes, cabins or sheds, especially when cleansing out enclosed spaces with little ventilation or exploring areas where there are mouse droppings.
People also can get the virus from infected mice, rats and other rodents.
“Because of this, it’s best to avoid close contact with rodents in Canada and abroad,” the Canadian government notes.
The WHO says that while it rarely happens, hantaviruses also can spread directly between people.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) began tracking the virus after a 1993 outbreak within the 4 Corners region — the realm where Arizona, Colorado, Recent Mexico and Utah meet.
Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome became a nationally notifiable disease in 1995 and is now reported through the National Notifiable Disease Surveillance System when fever is present in a patient with laboratory-confirmed evidence of hantavirus infection, based on the CDC.
An infection can rapidly progress and grow to be life-threatening. Symptoms of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome normally show between one and eight weeks after contact with an infected rodent. Because the infection progresses, patients might experience tightness within the chest because the lungs fill with fluid.
The opposite syndrome attributable to hantavirus — hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome — normally develops inside every week or two after exposure.
Death rates vary based on which hantavirus causes the illness. Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome is fatal in about 35 per cent of individuals infected, while the death rate for hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome varies from one per cent to fifteen per cent of patients, based on the CDC.
Since 1989, there have been 109 confirmed cases and 27 deaths in Canada on account of a hantavirus infection, the federal government of Canada reports.
— with files from The Associated Press