Three people have died and three others have been sickened aboard a small Dutch expedition cruise ship in a suspected hantavirus outbreak, according to the vessel’s operator. The MV Hondius ship, carrying 149 passengers, including 17 Americans, is currently on lockdown off the coast of Cape Verde in the Atlantic Ocean as health authorities coordinate next steps.
Hantavirus is typically passed from rodents to humans through feces, saliva or urine, and can cause severe respiratory illness. Human-to-human transmission is rare.
“The disembarkation of passengers, medical evacuation and medical screening require permission from, and coordination with, the local health authorities,” operator Oceanwide Expeditions said in a statement, adding that officials have boarded the ship and assessed the situation.
A Dutch husband and wife and a German national have died on board, though their causes of death have not yet been confirmed. The only confirmed case of hantavirus is a British passenger who is in intensive care in Johannesburg, South Africa, the Dutch company said.
Two crew members are also ill and require urgent medical care. It’s not known whether their illnesses, or the three deaths, are linked to hantavirus.
No other people with symptoms have been identified. Isolation measures, hygiene protocols and medical monitoring are in place on board as a precaution.
Health authorities have emphasized that the suspected outbreak is not a public health threat. “There is no need for panic or travel restrictions,” Hans Kluge, the World Health Organization’s regional director for Europe, said in a statement on Monday.
Here’s what we know.
What is hantavirus and how do people get it?
The hantavirus gained attention in February 2025 when the late actor Gene Hackman’s wife, Betsy Arakawa, died from a hantavirus infection in New Mexico.
Hantaviruses are a “family of viruses which can cause serious illnesses and death,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. People can get hantavirus by coming into contact with rodents, such as mice and rats, particularly when exposed to their urine, feces and saliva. Though rare, it’s possible it can be transmitted through a bite or scratch from a rodent.
“In the Americas, hantaviruses can cause hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome (HCPS), a severe respiratory illness, with a case fatality rate up to 40%,” according to the WHO. Early symptoms include fatigue, fever and muscle aches. Half of patients also experience headaches, dizziness, chills and gastrointestinal problems, according to the CDC. HCPS symptoms can show 1 to 8 weeks after contact with an infected rodent.
The only known limited human-to-human transmission documented, known as the Andes virus, was found in South America, according to the WHO. It’s mostly found in Chile and Argentina, where the ship set sail from.
Hantaviruses in Europe and Asia can cause hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) and symptoms can develop within one to two weeks after exposure and can include intense headaches, back and abdominal pain, fever, chills, nausea and blurred vision. Later symptoms can include low blood pressure and internal bleeding.
A timeline of the MV Hondius’s travel
The MV Hondius disembarked from Ushuaia, Argentina, in early April and has been at sea for about seven weeks, according to a Monday MarineTraffic post on X.
On April 11, a Dutch passenger died on board, and the cause of death could not be determined on the ship, according to Oceanwide Expeditions. Around two weeks later on April 24, the passenger was disembarked in St. Helena, accompanied by his wife, also a Dutch national.
On April 27, the ship’s operator was informed that the wife became unwell on her journey home and later died.
The same day, another passenger became seriously ill and had to be hospitalized in Johannesburg, South Africa. This passenger has the only confirmed case of hantavirus.
On May 2, a German national passenger died on board. The cause of death has not yet been determined.
There are currently two crew members “with acute respiratory symptoms, one mild and one severe,” who are of British and Dutch nationality. Both require urgent medical care and their medical transfer has not yet taken place.
“Hantavirus has not currently been confirmed in the two persons still on board who require medical care,” Oceanwide Expeditions said. “Nor has it been established that the virus is connected to the three deaths associated with this voyage. The exact cause and any possible connection are being investigated.”
What’s next for the passengers on board?
The passengers aboard the MV Hondius won’t be allowed to disembark in Cape Verde to protect the local population, the country’s health minister, Maria da Luz Lima, told Radio Cabo Verde on Sunday.
It’s possible that the ship could continue on to Spain’s Canary Islands. “Preparations are being made for possible medical repatriation and next steps,” Oceanwide Expeditions said. “The option of sailing on to Las Palmas or Tenerife are being considered to be the gateway for disembarkation, where further medical screening and handling could take place.”
