WHO Alerts 12 Countries After Deadly Hantavirus Outbreak On Cruise Ship MV Hondius, 3 Dead, 8 Infected

A rare and deadly hantavirus outbreak aboard the Dutch-flagged cruise ship MV Hondius has killed three passengers and infected at least eight, triggering an emergency international response from the World Health Organisation and health authorities across four continents.

The first person to fall ill was a 70-year-old Dutch man who suddenly developed fever, headache, abdominal pain, and diarrhoea while the ship was at sea. He died on board on April 11. His body remained on the ship for two weeks until it could be removed at Saint Helena on April 24. His wife, who accompanied the repatriation, fell ill during the journey home and later died. The third fatality was a German national who died aboard on May 2.

As seen in images circulating from the outbreak response, the MV Hondius , a blue-and-white expedition vessel, became the centre of a global health emergency, with medical teams in hazmat suits conducting evacuations at sea and in ports across West Africa and Europe.

WHO confirmed eight total cases as of May 7, with five laboratory-confirmed as hantavirus. The strain has been identified as the Andes virus , the only known hantavirus species capable of limited human-to-human transmission, associated with prolonged and very close contact.

The 12 countries now linked to the outbreak are Canada, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Health authorities in each nation are actively monitoring passengers who were onboard or came into contact with confirmed cases.

WHO is working on the assumption that the Dutch couple who were the first victims contracted the virus before boarding, during a birdwatching trip through Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay, areas where rodents carrying the Andes virus are known to live. Argentine investigators are retracing the couple's four-month travel route across South America to identify the precise exposure site.

WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus described the situation as "serious" but assessed the global public health risk as low. He did warn, however, that more cases could emerge given the virus's incubation period, which can stretch from days to several weeks.

In response, WHO deployed an expert directly onto the ship, arranged shipment of 2,500 diagnostic kits from Argentina to laboratories in five countries, and began developing step-by-step disembarkation guidance for when the vessel reaches the Canary Islands. The MV Hondius, still carrying approximately 146 passengers and crew from 23 nations, is expected to arrive in Spain's Canary Islands by the weekend, with coordinated disembarkation scheduled to begin May 11.