At least three people have died and others have been sickened by what health authorities suspect is a hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship in the Atlantic Ocean, raising urgent questions about disease control protocols and emergency medical response capabilities in international maritime operations. The World Health Organization and South Africa's Department of Health confirmed the fatalities Sunday as the Dutch-flagged vessel remained stranded off the coast of Cape Verde, an island nation off Africa's west coast, with local authorities assisting but not allowing anyone to disembark.
The World Health Organization said in a statement to The Associated Press that an investigation was underway and that at least one case of hantavirus had been confirmed. One patient was in intensive care in a South African hospital, and the agency said it was working with authorities to evacuate two others with symptoms from the ship. The Dutch company that operates the cruise said the two sick people onboard requiring urgent medical care were crew members.
The Outbreak Timeline
South Africa's Department of Health said the MV Hondius had left Argentina around three weeks ago for a cruise that included visits to Antarctica, the Falkland Islands and other stops, and was due to ultimately head to Spain's Canary Islands on the other side of the Atlantic. Around 150 tourists were onboard at the time of the outbreak, South Africa's health department said. Several online tour operators said the Hondius, which is described as a specialist polar cruise ship, usually travels with around 70 crew members.
The first victim was a 70-year-old man who died on the ship and whose body was removed in the British territory of Saint Helena in the South Atlantic, the department said. The man's wife collapsed at an airport in South Africa trying to take a flight to her home country of the Netherlands, and she died at a nearby hospital. The department identified the patient in intensive care in a hospital in Johannesburg as a British national. It said that person fell ill near Ascension Island, another remote island in the Atlantic, after the ship left Saint Helena and was transferred from there to South Africa.
Disease Characteristics and Transmission
Hantaviruses are found throughout the world and are spread mainly by contact with the urine or feces of infected rodents such as rats and mice. They gained attention after the late actor Gene Hackman's wife, Betsy Arakawa, died from hantavirus infection in New Mexico one year ago. Hackman died around a week later at their home from heart disease.
Hantaviruses cause two serious syndromes, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, a severe disease that affects the lungs, and hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome, a severe disease that affects the kidneys. WHO said hantavirus infections can be spread between people, though they are rare, and that there is no specific treatment or cure, but early medical attention can increase the chance of survival.
Response and Investigation
WHO said, "WHO is aware of and supporting a public health event involving a cruise vessel sailing in the Atlantic Ocean," and added, "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."
Oceanwide Expeditions, the company that runs the cruise, said the third victim's body was still onboard the ship in Cape Verde and its priority was to ensure the two crew members who were ill received medical care. It said, "Local health authorities have visited the vessel to assess the condition of the two symptomatic individuals. They are yet to make a decision regarding the transfer of these individuals into medical care in Cape Verde."
WHO said it was working with national authorities and the ship's operators to conduct a "full public health risk assessment" and provide support for those still onboard. South Africa's National Institute for Communicable Diseases was conducting contact tracing in the Johannesburg region to identify if other people were exposed to the infected passengers in South Africa.
Why This Matters:
This outbreak exposes critical vulnerabilities in maritime health protocols and emergency response systems for international cruise operations, particularly on vessels traveling to remote destinations where immediate medical evacuation is difficult. The presence of infected rodents on a cruise ship raises questions about sanitation standards and pest control measures in the maritime tourism industry, which operates largely beyond direct national regulatory oversight. With no specific treatment or cure for hantavirus and limited medical facilities on remote ocean vessels, passengers face significant health risks when outbreaks occur far from shore. The incident also demonstrates the complex jurisdictional challenges of managing international health emergencies involving multiple nations, as the Dutch-flagged ship with international passengers and crew required coordination between Cape Verde, South Africa, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and international health authorities. For the cruise industry, this outbreak may trigger increased scrutiny of health and safety protocols, potentially affecting operational costs and insurance requirements for companies operating in remote regions where emergency medical response capabilities are limited.