Three people are dead and at least four others are ill following a hantavirus outbreak aboard a Dutch cruise ship currently anchored off the coast of Cape Verde in the Atlantic Ocean. The World Health Organization confirmed the cluster on May 6 and said the virus appeared to have spread between passengers, an occurrence that is rare with hantavirus but not unprecedented.
The ship, the MV Hondius, is operated by Oceanwide Expeditions and departed Ushuaia in southern Argentina in March. The vessel carries roughly 150 people, including passengers and crew from more than 20 countries. It is expected to dock in the Canary Islands, Spain, in the coming days, which has raised concern among local health officials about the potential for further transmission.
A married Dutch couple and a German national, all passengers, have died. A British national aboard the ship was evacuated and is being treated in South Africa; that passenger was the first to receive a confirmed hantavirus diagnosis. Evacuations of sick passengers requiring medical assistance began on May 5, according to Oceanwide Expeditions.
The company said it was cooperating with health authorities. "[We are] working closely with local and international authorities," the company said in a statement on May 4. "Strict precautionary measures are in process on board, including isolation measures, hygiene protocols and medical monitoring. All passengers have been informed and are being supported. Oceanwide Expeditions is in close contact with those directly involved and their families, and is providing support where possible."
The specific strain suspected in the outbreak is Andes Virus, a hantavirus found in Argentina and one of the only known strains capable of spreading from person to person. Most hantavirus infections occur when people come into contact with infected rodent urine, feces, or saliva. Human-to-human transmission is associated almost exclusively with the Andes strain.
Steven Bradfute, an associate professor at the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center who specializes in hantavirus research, told Healthline that investigators are still working out exactly how the outbreak began. "It's possible someone got the infection in Argentina, got on the boat, and it spread from person to person. It's also possible that passengers on the boat got it from the rodents that were already present on the ship," Bradfute said.
He described the scale of the cluster as unexpected. "Usually you have isolated cases, so to hear about a cruise ship with multiple people being infected was definitely not something on our radar," he said.
The WHO has said the risk to the general public remains low. A suspected total of seven cases has been identified. Investigators from multiple countries are involved in managing the outbreak as the ship moves toward its next port of call in the Canary Islands. Spanish health authorities are expected to be involved in the response once the vessel docks.
