World

Three People Died on a Cruise Ship. Hantavirus Is the Suspect.

By Mike Harper · May 4, 2026

A polar expedition cruise ship is sitting anchored off the coast of Cape Verde, unable to dock, with three passengers dead, two crew members requiring urgent medical care, and a suspected hantavirus outbreak that has left health authorities across four countries scrambling for answers.

The vessel — the MV Hondius, a Dutch-flagged polar expedition ship operated by Oceanwide Expeditions — departed Argentina roughly three weeks ago for a voyage that included stops in Antarctica, the Falkland Islands, and Saint Helena before heading toward Spain’s Canary Islands. Three passengers died during the voyage, including an elderly married couple. One passenger is currently in intensive care at a private hospital in Johannesburg, South Africa — and is the only case so far confirmed by laboratory testing as hantavirus. Five other cases remain suspected but unconfirmed as the WHO’s testing and virus sequencing continues.

There are 149 people still aboard the ship, representing 23 nationalities, including 17 Americans. Cape Verde’s government has refused to allow the ship to dock at its capital, Praia. Local health authorities have visited the vessel to assess the two symptomatic crew members but have not permitted disembarkation. The Dutch foreign ministry said it was exploring options to medically evacuate several people from the ship.

The route the ship traveled before the outbreak emerged is one of the most puzzling details of the case. Hantavirus is not endemic to any of the regions the MV Hondius visited — Antarctica, the South Atlantic, Saint Helena, and the open ocean. The virus is typically spread through contact with infected rodents, particularly their urine, droppings, or saliva. It is not supposed to appear in the middle of the Atlantic.

Dr. Scott Miscovich, a family physician and president of Premier Medical Group, told CNN the case was deeply unusual. “When I first read this, I thought they were making a misprint,” he said. There are two plausible explanations, Miscovich said. The ship could have become contaminated with rat or mouse droppings — not impossible on a vessel that had spent weeks at sea and made port stops in South America. Or one of the passengers could have carried the Andes variant of hantavirus, which is the only strain with documented evidence of human-to-human transmission, possibly acquired in Argentina before departure.

Hantavirus is a rare but often lethal illness. The CDC has tracked it since a 1993 outbreak in the Four Corners region of the southwestern United States. Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome — the form caused by North and South American variants — kills roughly 35% of the people who develop its severe respiratory symptoms. The disease begins with symptoms that are nearly indistinguishable from the flu: fever, chills, muscle aches, fatigue, and sometimes nausea. Days later, in serious cases, the lungs begin to fill with fluid. There is no cure and no vaccine. Early supportive care — including intubation and oxygen for patients whose breathing deteriorates — is the only available intervention.

The WHO said Sunday that the risk to the wider public remains low and that there is no need for panic or travel restrictions. Dr. Hans Henri Kluge, the WHO’s regional director for Europe, said the situation was being actively managed.

“WHO is aware of and supporting a public health event involving a cruise vessel sailing in the Atlantic Ocean,” the organization said. “Detailed investigations are ongoing, including further laboratory testing, and epidemiological investigations. Medical care and support are being provided to passengers and crew. Sequencing of the virus is also ongoing.”

South Africa’s National Institute for Communicable Diseases is conducting contact tracing in the Johannesburg area to identify anyone who may have been exposed to infected passengers who were medically evacuated through South Africa.

For the 149 people still aboard the MV Hondius, the situation is unresolved. The ship cannot dock. Evacuations are being arranged but not yet executed. The virus’s origin remains unknown. And the test results for five suspected cases are still pending.