Five of the eight suspected cases of hantavirus linked to the MV Hondius cruise ship have now been confirmed, the World Health Organization said at a press briefing on Thursday.
The wider public health threat from the outbreak remained low, director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus insisted, adding that the WHO was aware of reports of other patients, with more possible due to the incubation period for the virus.
Countries around the world are scrambling to prevent further spread of the virus by tracking those who had already disembarked before the virus was detected and anyone in close contact with them since.
Follow our liveblog on the hantavirus outbreak here.
Three people – a Dutch couple and a German national – have died so far on the MV Hondius.
Eight people, including a Swiss citizen, were suspected to have contracted the virus, which is typically spread by rodents but can in rare cases be transmitted among people, the World Health Organization said. Five of these cases were confirmed as Hantavirus on Thursday.
Hantavirus is usually spread by rodents but can in rare cases be transmitted among people, the World Health Organization said.
People who may have been exposed to the virus are now dotted around the world, with passengers from at least 12 countries having disembarked in St Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean during a stop on 24 April.
Argentina
The MV Hondius departed the southern Argentinian city of Ushuaia on 1 April, with one Argentine national onboard.
The country’s health ministry reported 101 hantavirus infections since June 2025, around double recorded in the same period the previous year.
The source of the outbreak hasn’t been confirmed, but the Argentine government is looking into whether infections began in the country. The government’s leading hypothesis is that a Dutch couple contracted the illness during a bird-watching outing in Ushuaia, Argentina.
Argentina’s health ministry will now carry out rodent trapping and analysis in Ushuaia as investigations continue.
Cape Verde
The MV Hondius was denied its plans to dock in the West African archipelago, and remained anchored off its coast for several days.
On 6 May, it set sail for the Canary Islands – the government of which has also said it will not permit the boat to dock there.
Netherlands
The ship, the MV Hondius, is Dutch-flagged. The Netherlands government as a result is coordinating assistance to those on board, the country’s foreign ministry said.
Thirteen people on the ship are Dutch, including eight passengers and five crew members.
The three deaths so far include two Dutch nationals, a husband and wife. The woman tested positive for hantavirus and died in South Africa.
On Thursday, a Dutch woman was admitted to a hospital in Amsterdam after showing possible symptoms of a hantavirus infection, the Dutch health ministry said.
Dutch broadcaster RTL said the woman was a stewardess at Dutch airline KLM, who had been in contact with a woman who died from a hantavirus infection in Johannesburg.
UK
Oceanwide Expeditions, the operator, says British citizens account for 19 of the passengers and four of the crew members.
One British passenger with high fever and signs of pneumonia was evacuated to South Africa on 27 April, the WHO said. The passenger tested positive for the virus and is in intensive care.
Another British national, Martin Anstee, was among those evacuated on Wednesday.
Mr Anstee, an expedition guide, was one of the two in hospital in the Netherlands, according to Sky News, and told them he was “doing okay” but “there are still lots of tests to be done”.
Two others have been self-isolating in the UK after disembarking the ship in St Helena.
US
The United States’ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said it was closely monitoring the situation, adding that the risk to the American public was extremely low at the time.
Two asymptomatic residents who had returned home after disembarking from the cruise ship are being monitored by the Georgia Department of Public Health.
The Arizona Department of Health Services said in a separate emailed statement it was monitoring one resident, who was a passenger on the ship, and not symptomatic.
According to the New York Times, California is monitoring an undisclosed number of residents who had also been on the ship.
Denmark
A Danish citizen who was aboard the Hondius has returned home and has been advised to self-isolate as a precaution, Danish health authorities said.
The person is assessed to be at low risk, having had no close contact with those who later fell ill.
Germany
There are reported to be eight German nationals, including one crew member, on the vessel.
A female passenger who passed away on the ship was from Germany.
Another asymptomatic individual was evacuated on Wednesday. The Duesseldorf University Clinic, treating the German evacuee, said she was not a confirmed case but rather a contact and was undergoing tests.
Philippines
Among the crew of the MV Hondius are 38 people from the Philippines.
But there are currently no recorded cases of hantavirus in the country, with officials stressing the risk remains “extremely low”.
Singapore
Singapore’s Communicable Diseases Agency announced on Thursday that it has isolated and is monitoring two of its residents in the city-state.
“Their test results are pending,” it said in an update. “One has a runny nose but is otherwise well, and the other is asymptomatic. The risk to the general public in Singapore is currently low.”
The country was notified earlier this week that two residents, aged 67 and 65, departed Ushuaia on the ship.
South Africa
A Dutch woman who died in South Africa had flown in from St Helena after departing the ship.
According to the WHO, she deteriorated during a flight to Johannesburg, with South African media reporting she collapsed at the O.R. Tambo International airport.
Her infection with hantavirus was confirmed, and South African health officials afterwards identified 62 people she came into contact with, the government announced.
Spain
The MV Hondius, with nearly 150 people on board, is expected to dock in Spain’s Tenerife, in the Canary Islands, by Saturday.
Once in Tenerife, if they are still healthy, all non-Spanish citizens will be repatriated to their countries, while 14 Spanish passengers will be quarantined in a military hospital in Madrid.
Switzerland
In Switzerland, a person admitted to hospital on Monday was stable but showed symptoms consistent with a hantavirus infection, including low fever, body aches and a cough, the hospital said.
The patient tested positive for the Andes strain, and his wife has not shown any symptoms but is self-isolating.
France
One French citizen has been in contact with a person who had fallen ill but was not showing symptoms, foreign minister Jean-Noel Barrot has said.
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