MAY 7, 2026
Hantavirus Outbreak on MV Hondius Cruise Ship Kills Three, Prompts Contact Tracing Across Four Continents
At least three passengers aboard the MV Hondius, operated by Oceanwide Expeditions, have died from hantavirus infections during a cruise on the Atlantic Ocean. Approximately 29 passengers from at least 12 countries disembarked the ship at Saint Helena on April 24 before the outbreak was publicly identified, and health authorities on at least four continents are now tracking those passengers and their contacts. Experts and officials have said the risk to the general public remains low, as hantavirus does not spread easily between people.
The MV Hondius departed from Argentina carrying more than 140 passengers and crew. The first hantavirus infection aboard was not confirmed until May 2, according to the World Health Organization, in a British citizen who had been evacuated from the ship near Ascension Island and transferred to South Africa, where he remains in intensive care. The body of a German woman who died on May 2 remains aboard the ship, which was sailing toward Spain's Canary Islands as of Thursday, a journey expected to take three to four days.
The virus involved is the Andes strain of hantavirus, the only known hantavirus variant that can spread from person to person, according to AP reporting. The strain can cause a severe and often fatal lung condition called hantavirus pulmonary syndrome. At least five people confirmed to have been on the ship tested positive for this variant. Tests on the origin of the outbreak are focused on Argentina, where the Dutch couple who were among the first passengers to fall ill had traveled before boarding, per the WHO.
The timeline of the outbreak has drawn scrutiny. A Dutch man died on April 11, and his body was removed from the ship when it stopped at Saint Helena on April 24. His wife also disembarked that day and flew to South Africa on April 25, where she later died. Dozens of other passengers left the ship at Saint Helena that same day — Oceanwide Expeditions placed the number at 29, while the Dutch Foreign Ministry put it at around 40, according to AP — before any formal contact tracing had begun.