SAINT HELENA ISLAND – APRIL 24: A view of the Dutch-flagged vessel MV Hondius is seen navigating the Atlantic Ocean near Saint Helena Island on April 24, 2026. World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus reported that seven cases of hantavirus, three of which were fatal, were detected on the MV Hondius, which was traveling from Argentina in the South Atlantic to Cabo Verde off the west coast of Africa. (Photo by Emin Yogurtcuoglu/Anadolu via Getty Images) (Image: Anadolu via Getty Images)
Health authorities spanning four continents are urgently working to locate and monitor passengers who left a hantavirus-stricken cruise ship before its fatal outbreak was detected, while simultaneously trying to trace others who may have been exposed through contact with them.
Three passengers have died as a result of the outbreak — a Dutch couple and a German national — with a number of others currently ill. Symptoms typically appear between one and eight weeks after exposure, The Mirror reports.
None of the remaining passengers or crew members still aboard the vessel are currently displaying any symptoms, Netherlands-based cruise operator Oceanwide Expeditions confirmed on Thursday.
In Argentina, a team of investigators had yet to set off for the southern town where officials from the country’s Health Ministry told the Associated Press they believe the outbreak first began. Argentine investigators suspect that a Dutch couple may have contracted the virus during a birdwatching trip before boarding the cruise ship.
On April 24, nearly a fortnight after the first passenger had died on board, more than two dozen people from at least 12 different countries disembarked the vessel without any contact tracing having taken place, according to the ship’s operator and Dutch officials on Thursday.
The World Health Organisation has confirmed that the risk to the general public remains low. Hantavirus is typically contracted through breathing in contaminated rodent droppings and does not spread easily between humans.
“We believe this will be a limited outbreak if the public health measures are implemented and solidarity is shown across all countries,” said Dr. Abdirahman Mahamud, the WHO’s alert and response director, on Thursday.
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Three people, amongst them the ship’s doctor, were airlifted on Wednesday while the vessel was anchored near the West African island nation of Cape Verde, and transferred to specialist hospitals across Europe for treatment.
The ship’s operator confirmed on Thursday that a total of 30 passengers — including the deceased Dutch man and his wife — disembarked at St. Helena. The Dutch Foreign Ministry has put the figure at approximately 40. The company had not previously made public that dozens more passengers left the vessel on 24 April.
It was not until 2 May that health authorities first confirmed hantavirus in a passenger aboard the ship, according to the WHO. The case involved a British man who had been evacuated from the vessel to South Africa three days after the St. Helena stop. He was tested upon arrival in South Africa and remains in intensive care there.
Authorities in nations including South Africa, Singapore and the Netherlands are now tracking down passengers who were on board the vessel. The Dutch couple who represented the first two cases had travelled through Argentina, Chile and Uruguay before boarding the ship, according to the WHO. They had visited areas where the rat species known to carry the Andes virus is present.
The WHO is working alongside Argentinian health authorities to retrace the couple’s movements and has arranged the distribution of 2,500 diagnostic kits from Argentina to laboratories in five countries.
Argentina’s health ministry recorded 28 deaths from hantavirus last year, an increase from the typical death toll of 15 over the previous five years. Nearly a third of last year’s cases resulted in fatalities, it confirmed.
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The French Health Ministry has released a statement confirming that a French citizen has been tested for hantavirus and placed in isolation after presenting mild symptoms.
Two patients infected with hantavirus are currently receiving treatment in hospital in the Netherlands in specialist isolation units, Dutch health officials have said. One patient is at Radboud University Medical Center in Nijmegen, while the other is at Leiden University Medical Center in Leiden, officials said. Three further individuals in the country have been tested for the virus, amongst them a 69-year-old flight attendant. All three had been in direct contact with the victim who died in South Africa, officials confirmed.
It came to light on Wednesday that a man tested positive for hantavirus in Switzerland after disembarking at St. Helena, though his precise movements in the intervening period remain unclear.
Health workers in protective gear evacuate patients from the MV Hondius cruise ship into an ambulance at a port in Praia, Cape Verde, Wednesday, May 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu) (Image: AP)
“There could be more cases due to the incubation period”
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the WHO, stated that while the risk to the general public remains low, further cases could emerge owing to the incubation period of the Andes virus.
“Given the incubation period of the Andes virus, which can be up to six weeks, it’s possible that more cases may be reported,” he said. “While this is a serious incident, WHO assesses the public health risk as low.”
He added: “I would also like to thank the ship’s operator for its co-operation, and the passengers and crew who are going through a very difficult and frightening situation. I’ve been in touch with the ship’s captain regularly, including this morning. He told me morale has improved significantly since the ship started moving again.”
