Suspected hantavirus outbreak on cruise ship off Cape Verde

As of May 3, 2026, the World Health Organization (WHO) is investigating a suspected hantavirus outbreak on the cruise ship MV Hondius in the Atlantic Ocean, which has resulted in three deaths. One case is laboratory-confirmed, with five additional suspected cases among passengers and crew.

Three people have died from a suspected rare hantavirus outbreak on a Dutch cruise ship en route from Argentina to Antarctica. At least two more need urgent medical treatment. The boat, which has no stops in the US, is being is held off the coast of Cape Verde. Nightmare. We hope they get help soon

Update on #Hantavirus cluster linked to cruise ship travel: Based on the current information, including how hantavirus spreads, WHO assesses the risk to the global population from this event as low. More information bit.ly/42Tc4J7

WHO issues an alert about a hantavirus outbreak on the cruise ship MV Hondius, which had left Argentina for the Canary Islands with multiple port calls. Of the six people infected, three have died and one is in intensive care in South Africa.

Some human-to-human transmission may have occurred on board the cruise ship hit by a hantavirus outbreak that has left three people dead and several others ill, the World Health Organization said. https://cnn.it/3RkXAzb

Three people have died after a suspected Hantavirus outbreak on the MV Hondius cruise ship, according to the World Health Organization. One case is confirmed and five more are being investigated. The ship, operated by Oceanwide Expeditions, was sailing from Argentina to Cape Verde. Source: BBC

At least three passengers aboard the MV Hondius, an international cruise ship sailing from South America toward the Canary Islands, have died following suspected infections of hantavirus, a rare family of rodent-borne viruses that rarely appears in maritime settings www.livemint.com/science/heal...

Dutch newspaper, AD, (highly credible) reports South Africa has reported to them a new confirmed hantavirus test in the 69 year old Dutch woman who left the boat after her husband passed away. Follow up "Request for Information" on hantavirus cluster on MV Hondius.

The cruise ship at the center of a deadly outbreak of hantavirus has been refused permission to dock, with 149 people still on board — two of them seriously ill. The ship may sail from Cape Verde to Las Palmas or Tenerife in the Canary Islands and dock there.

⚠️ @who.int has released a DON on the MV Hondius #hantavirus cluster: -The ship departed Ushuaia, Argentina on April 1 and is anchored off Cabo Verde - 147 people fro 23 countries on board - 7 cases, 3 deaths, 1 in ICU -Two cases are lab-confirmed www.who.int/emergencies/...

Lots of interest and noise around the cruise ship hantavirus outbreak - much of it not very helpful I am PI of a phase I hantavirus vaccine study in Southampton, so have a particular interest (www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN17868912) You can read my explainer and thoughts here

4. Shows challenge of public health response on a cruise ship. (3/3)

Three people have died in other passengers, seriously ill, following a suspected hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship, which is currently off the coast of Cape Verde‼️

About 150 people were stuck on a cruise ship visiting some of the most remote places on Earth, including Tristan da Cunha, an island in the south Atlantic. Three people on board have died.

🦠 The World Health Organization official said there was a suspicion the person first sickened was infected before boarding the cruise ship currently anchored off Cape Verde. [2/3]