Officials are looking for greater than 30 passengers who left the cruise ship hit by a deadly hantavirus outbreak on April 24 without contact tracing, nearly two weeks after the primary passenger died on board, in response to the ship operator and Dutch officials.
The news comes after concerns were raised that the virus could spread as travellers returned home, although experts say the danger to the general public is taken into account “low.”
In an update on Thursday, Oceanwide Expeditions, the Dutch company that operates the cruise ship, said it continues to “manage an ongoing medical situation on board m/v Hondius.”
“Oceanwide Expeditions can confirm that on 1 April 2026, 114 guests boarded m/v Hondius in Ushuaia, Argentina. 30 guests disembarked m/v Hondius on Saint Helena on 24 April 2026,” the corporate said.
“This number includes the body of the guest who passed away on board m/v Hondius on 11 April 2026. The primary confirmed case of hantavirus was not reported until 4 May 2026. These disembarked guests have all been contacted by Oceanwide Expeditions. We’re working to determine details of all passengers and crew who embarked and disembarked on various stops of m/v Hondius since March 20.”
The Dutch Foreign Ministry put the number at 40 people, in response to The Associated Press.
There are two Canadian passengers included within the 30 guests who disembarked at St. Helena on April 24.
During a press conference on Thursday, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO), said the Public Health Agency of Canada is following up on the 2 Canadians who’ve disembarked.
The seek for the disembarked passengers comes after the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health confirmed that a passenger who travelled on the primary leg of the voyage, from Ushuaia to St. Helena, April 1 to 24, has tested positive for hantavirus and is currently being treated on the University Hospital Zurich.
The primary confirmed case of hantavirus in a passenger on the ship was only on May 2, the WHO has previously said. That involved a British man evacuated from the ship to South Africa from Ascension Island three days after the St. Helena stop.
Three passengers have died within the outbreak, and a number of other others are sick. Three people, including the ship’s doctor, were evacuated Wednesday while the ship was near the West African island country of Cape Verde and brought to Europe for treatment.
The body of the third fatality, a German woman, remains to be on board the ship after she died on May 2.
Hantavirus often spreads by the inhalation of contaminated rodent droppings and, in rare cases, might be transmitted from individual to individual, in response to the WHO. Symptoms often show between one and eight weeks after exposure.
There isn’t any specific treatment or cure for hantavirus, but early medical attention can increase the possibility of survival.
The vessel is now sailing to Spain’s Canary Islands, a voyage that is anticipated to take three or 4 days, with greater than 140 passengers and crew members still on board.
How did the outbreak start?
The primary 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 hold the virus was present,” Ghebreyesus said.
The WHO is working with authorities in Argentina to learn more in regards to the couple’s movements while there, he added. The deceased pair have been identified as a Dutch couple, a person aged 70 and a lady aged 69.
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Ghebreyesus said he has been in contact with the captain of the MV Hondius, who said that morale has improved “significantly” because the ship began to maneuver again to the Canary Islands.
Ghebreyesus asked for “global solidarity” because the ship heads to the Canary Islands and said he asked Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez to just accept the ship.
“We made a request to Spain and I actually have actually sent a letter personally to his excellence the prime minister. And based on that request, because this is a component of the IHR regulation, the prime minister has accepted,” he said.
“Solidarity is a very powerful here, and that’s what the prime minister has shown. But on top of that, I feel everybody has the moral duty to maintain the people who find themselves on the ship. So I hope those that have concerns on the Canary Island will understand and support and co-operate with the federal government.”
He said he understands “their concerns” but added that “based on the danger assessment that we’ve got, the danger to the people in Canary Island is definitely low.”
“We’re confident within the capability of Spain to administer this risk and we’re supporting them to achieve this,” he said.
Oceanwide Expeditions said that the ship is estimated to reach on the port of Grandilla, Tenerife “within the early hours of Sunday, May 10” but notes “that is subject to vary.”
Ghebreyesus also said he’s aware of reports of other individuals with symptoms who can have had contact with passengers and the WHO is in contact with the relevant authorities.
He confirmed that investigations into the course of the outbreak are still underway.
This just isn’t a COVID-19 pandemic, WHO says
When asked if the hantavirus outbreak is comparable to the “early days or perhaps weeks of the coronavirus pandemic,” Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO’s director of epidemic and pandemic preparedness, said “this just isn’t coronavirus.”
“It is a very different virus. We all know this virus. Hantavirus has been around for quite some time. There’s quite a lot of detail that we all know,” she said on Thursday. “I need to be unequivocal here: this just isn’t SARS-CoV-2. This just isn’t the beginning of a COVID pandemic. That is an outbreak that we see on a ship.”
Kerkhove said the outbreak took place in a “confined area.”
“We’ve five confirmed cases thus far. We completely understand why these questions are coming and we are attempting to offer all of the data that we will,” she continued. “We’re grateful for all of those that are asking these kinds of questions but this just isn’t the identical situation we were in six years ago.”
Hantavirus doesn’t spread the identical way as COVID-19, in response to Kerkhove.
“Most hantaviruses don’t transmit between people in any respect. Most hantaviruses are transmitted from rodents or their feces or their saliva of their droppings to people. And only this one particular virus, the Andes virus, which has been identified here, we’ve seen some human-to-human transmission,” Kerkhove explained.
She reiterated that the actions being taken on board are “precautionary to forestall any onward spread.”
“There’s lots that’s being done at once to have the ability to attenuate the danger even further,” Kerkhove added.
Kerkhove said authorities have asked “everyone to wear a mask” on board the MV Hondius.
Those passengers in touch with or caring for suspected cases should “wear the next level of private protective equipment,” she added.
Kerkhove said the variety of cases may rise as contact tracing continues, however the Andes hantavirus often only spreads through close human-to-human contact.
“This just isn’t COVID, this just isn’t influenza; it spreads very, very in another way,” she said.
The Andes strain is present in South America, primarily in Argentina and Chile, in response to the WHO. Thus far, it’s the only form of hantavirus during which human-to-human transmission has been confirmed, often through close contact, corresponding to by sharing a bed or sharing food, experts say.
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, in response to the CDC.
Since 1989, there have been 109 confirmed cases and 27 deaths in Canada because of a hantavirus infection, the federal government of Canada reports.
Oceanwide Expeditions said the second of two medicalized aircraft, carrying one in all the three individuals transferred from the ship on Wednesday, has landed within the Netherlands.
“Specialist medical and screening teams have received the person on board. All three individuals, two symptomatic and one asymptomatic, at the moment are within the care of medical professionals,” the corporate said.
Medical professionals on the ship proceed to observe the passengers on board the MV Hondius, which has departed Cape Verde and is sailing for the Canary Islands, to the port of Granadilla in Tenerife.
“This is anticipated to take 3-4 days. No symptomatic individuals are present on board. Oceanwide Expeditions stays in close and continual discussion with relevant authorities regarding our exact point of arrival, quarantine and screening procedures for all guests, and a precise timeline,” the corporate added.
During Thursday’s press conference, Kerkhove said a WHO expert is on board the ship, along with two Dutch infectious disease physicians.
“They’ve received protocols, they’re asking questions related to the exposures of the people on board to actually understand what form of contact did they’ve with any of the suspected cases or confirmed cases and what did they often do on the ship before they got on the ship,” she said.
There’s a step-by-step plan being developed with many experts to determine the protocol for what happens once the ship docks, Kerkhove said.
“What is actually critical is that folks have the correct information. This also includes individuals who disembarked from St. Helena, individuals who have been on board. In case you are developing any symptoms to present yourself to health care and just say, ‘That is my potential exposure, could be hantavirus,’ and then you definitely’ll be isolated and tested and provided care,” she added.
“I do need to reiterate contextually what we’re talking about. The danger to most of the people is low. Hantaviruses are relatively unusual, although there could also be hundreds of cases. We’re attempting to take this in a staged approach.”
The WHO is working with all the countries which have nationals on board the ship to debate the plans for his or her protected journey home, Kerkhove said.
Passengers shall be medically evaluated once they disembark the ship and plans are currently being developed.
“The entire governments and the ship’s operators need to be sure that they [passengers] get home safely, not only minimizing their very own risk but any risk to others, in order that is currently being developed and as those plans are announced, then we are going to make those,” Kerkhove shared.
Anaïs Legand, technical expert for the WHO, said “step-by-step guidance” is being developed to support disembarked passengers returning home.
Anyone with symptoms shall be “properly isolated and cared for,” with all passengers being “evaluated for his or her risk exposure.”
Health officials are currently tracking down dozens of individuals in South Africa who may need been near infected passengers.
Two passengers left the cruise ship in South Africa, and one has died, while the opposite stays hospitalized.
Health officials in that country have identified 62 people — airplane passengers, airport staff, medical experts, hospital cleaners, port of entry officials — who likely had contact with those two patients.
To this point, officials have tracked down 42 of them, and none tested positive for hantavirus.
— with files from The Associated Press