5 questions about the hantavirus outbreak on a Dutch cruise ship

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1. What happened aboard the cruise ship MV Hondius?

A suspected hantavirus outbreak on a Dutch cruise ship killed three people and left at least five others seriously ill, including two crew members requiring urgent care. The ship, carrying around 150 passengers, was anchored off Cape Verde in the Atlantic Ocean awaiting assistance from local health authorities, with no one allowed to disembark.

2. What is hantavirus, and how dangerous is it?

Hantavirus is a rare family of viruses spread primarily through contact with the urine or feces of infected rodents such as rats and mice. There is no specific treatment or cure, though early medical attention can improve survival odds. It is not easily transmitted between people, and the World Health Organization stated that the risk to the general public remains low.

3. Who are the victims and where are they now?

The first victim was a 70-year-old Dutch man who died on board near the island of Saint Helena. His 69-year-old wife was evacuated to South Africa, where she collapsed at a Johannesburg airport and died. A British man removed from the ship at Ascension Island tested positive for hantavirus and remains in critical condition in a South African hospital. The third fatality has not been publicly identified, and the body remains aboard the ship.

4. Where did the ship come from, and where might the outbreak have originated?

The Hondius departed Ushuaia in southern Argentina on a weekslong cruise that included stops in Antarctica, the Falkland Islands, South Georgia, and other remote South Atlantic islands. Authorities have not identified a definitive source, but a previous hantavirus outbreak in southern Argentina in 2019 killed at least nine people.

5. What is being done to respond to the outbreak?

The WHO is working with local authorities and the ship’s operator to conduct a full public health risk assessment and coordinate the evacuation of sick passengers. South Africa’s National Institute for Communicable Diseases is conducting contact tracing in the Johannesburg area, and scientists are sequencing the virus to gather more information. The Dutch Foreign Ministry said it was also exploring options to evacuate people from the vessel.

READ MORE: A cruise ship is waiting for help after a suspected outbreak of rare hantavirus onboard killed 3