The World Health Organization (WHO) said that it believes there may have been human-to-human transmission of hantavirus on a cruise ship carrying almost 150 passengers, with four Canadian passengers confirmed on board.
Hantavirus is a rodent-borne illness, but the WHO said that in this case it could have been spread among “really close contacts” aboard the MV Hondius, travelling from Argentina to Cape Verde.
“Some people on the ship were couples, they were sharing rooms, so 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, some of which “have a lot of rodents.”
“There could be some source of infection on the islands as well for some of the other suspect cases,” she said. “However, we do believe that there may be some human-to-human transmission that’s happening among the really close contacts,” such as those who 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 remain in their cabins while disinfection and other public measures are carried out, the WHO revealed.
There is no specific treatment or cure for hantavirus, but early medical attention can increase the chance of survival.
“Typically, people will develop respiratory symptoms, so respiratory support is really important,” 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 are working with the ship’s operators” and with the travellers’ countries of origin.
“We hear you. We know that you are scared,” she said. “We’re trying to make sure that the ship has as much information as they can … that you’re cared for and of course, that you get home safely.”
In a statement shared on Tuesday, the WHO said, “Since 1 April when the boat set sail, of the 147 passengers and crew, 7 people have become ill, among whom 3 have died, 1 is critically ill and 3 are reporting mild symptoms.”
“Based on the current information, including how hantavirus spreads, WHO assesses the risk to the global population from this event as low,” the statement added. “We are working closely with health authorities from the countries involved and the ship’s operators to ensure passengers and crew get the information and support they need.”
The WHO said it will “continue to monitor the situation and update the risk assessment as more information becomes available.”
Two of the people who died were identified as a Dutch couple, a man aged 70 and a woman aged 69.
The man died on arrival on the island of St. Helena. The woman, who also became ill on board, was evacuated to South Africa, where she died in a Johannesburg hospital, South African Health Ministry spokesperson Foster Mohale said in a statement to Global News.
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“On 2 May, another passenger on board died. The cause has not yet been established. This passenger was of German nationality,” according to 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 several isolated islands in the South Atlantic, has been waiting for help after authorities on the island of Cape Verde, off the West African coast, refused to allow passengers to disembark due to public health concerns.
Footage obtained by The Associated Press showed the ship’s decks mostly deserted, with only a few people wearing medical masks moving about. Common halls were empty as passengers were isolated in their cabins. At least five people with full protective gear, white overalls, boots and face masks, were seen disembarking from the ship into a small vessel.
Authorities in Cape Verde sent teams of doctors, surgeons, nurses and laboratory specialists to provide the vessel with medical support.
Officials in Cape Verde’s capital of Praia, a city of less than 200,000 people, said they have 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 would consider moving the vessel to one of the Spanish islands, Tenerife or the port of Las Palmas, if it can’t evacuate passengers to Cape Verde.
Van Kerkhove told reporters in Geneva on Tuesday that the plan at this time is for the ship “to continue 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 a statement Tuesday it was “conducting close monitoring, together with the World Health Organization and other involved countries, of the situation on the ship … (and) the most appropriate port of call will be decided. Until then, the Ministry of Health will not adopt any decision, as we have informed the World Health Organization.”
Update from Oceanwide Expeditions
In an update from Oceanwide Expeditions, it said that the atmosphere on board “remains calm, with passengers generally composed.”
The company said that the response plan implemented on board was at the highest level, three, and includes isolation measures, hygiene protocols and medical monitoring.
“Oceanwide Expeditions continues to deal with a serious medical situation on board m/v Hondius, which remains at anchor off the coast of Cape Verde,” the company 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 female Dutch national who passed away on 27 April 2026 after disembarkation in Saint Helena. This brings the total number of confirmed hantavirus cases to two,” the company added.
Oceanwide Expedition said its team members “are working diligently to support all individuals on board and uphold stringent health and safety procedures as part of Oceanwide Expeditions’ SHIELD response plan.”
“Dutch authorities are actively preparing a medical evacuation of the two symptomatic individuals along with the individual associated with the guest that passed away on 2 May,” the company said. “This will involve two specialized aircraft equipped with the necessary medical equipment and staffed by trained medical crews.”
Oceanwide Expedition added that an accurate timeline of the operation “is currently unknown” and will be shared in a further update.
“Local health authorities have visited the vessel and assessed the situation. The medical transfer of the two ill persons 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 company added.
It also confirmed that guests will not be disembarking in Cape Verde, “except for the three individuals who are 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 a further update on Tuesday, Oceanwide Expeditions said, “At this stage, no new symptomatic individuals on board have been identified beyond those previously reported.”
The company also noted that the vessel remains 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 mainly spread by contact with rodents or their urine, saliva or droppings, particularly when the material is disturbed and becomes airborne, posing a risk of inhalation, according to the government of Canada.
People are typically exposed to hantavirus around their homes, cabins or sheds, especially when cleaning out enclosed spaces with little ventilation or exploring areas where there are mouse droppings.
People can also get the virus from infected mice, rats and other rodents.
“For this reason, it is best to avoid close contact with rodents in Canada and abroad,” the Canadian government notes.
The WHO says that while it rarely happens, hantaviruses can also spread directly between people.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) began tracking the virus after a 1993 outbreak in the Four Corners region — the area where Arizona, Colorado, New 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, according to the CDC.
An infection can rapidly progress and become life-threatening. Symptoms of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome usually show between one and eight weeks after contact with an infected rodent. As the infection progresses, patients might experience tightness in the chest as the lungs fill with fluid.
The other syndrome caused by hantavirus — hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome — usually develops within a 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 people infected, while the death rate for hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome varies from one per cent to 15 per cent of patients, according to the CDC.
Since 1989, there have been 109 confirmed cases and 27 deaths in Canada due to a hantavirus infection, the government of Canada reports.
— with files from The Associated Press
