Three people have died following a suspected hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship in the Atlantic Ocean, the World Health Organization (WHO) has told the BBC.
The WHO reported one confirmed and five suspected cases aboard the MV Hondius, which was sailing from Argentina to Cape Verde.
A 69-year-old UK national is in intensive care in Johannesburg, South Africa. Local officials told the BBC he has the virus. The UK Foreign Office said it is monitoring reports and ready to support British nationals.
Hantavirus is usually transmitted to humans from rodents through faeces, saliva or urine. It can cause severe respiratory illness and is rarely spread between people.
The MV Hondius is operated by tour company Oceanwide Expeditions. According to its website, the ship departed Ushuaia in southern Argentina on March 20 and completed its journey on May 4 in Cape Verde, where it is now anchored outside the capital, Praia.
The 107.6m polar cruise ship has capacity for 170 passengers in 80 cabins, along with 57 crew members, 13 guides and one doctor.
Foster Mohale, a spokesperson for South Africa’s health ministry, told the BBC there were about 150 tourists from various countries aboard the vessel.
Before the WHO confirmation of three deaths, Mohale said at least two people had died — a Dutch couple. The man, aged 70, suddenly became ill with fever, headache, abdominal pain and diarrhoea, and died on arrival at St Helena, a British territory in the South Atlantic.
The woman, 69, also fell ill on board and was evacuated to South Africa, where she died in a Johannesburg hospital.
Oceanwide Expeditions said the third person who died was also Dutch, and efforts were under way to repatriate their body along with a guest “closely associated” with them.
The company confirmed two crew members need urgent medical care, but authorities in Cape Verde have not yet authorised them to disembark for hospital treatment.
“Disembarkation and medical screening of all guests require co-ordination with local health authorities, and we are in close consultation with them,” Oceanwide Expeditions said.
Microbiologist Siouxsie Wiles told the BBC that hantavirus symptoms can appear one to eight weeks after exposure.
“With this incubation period are we going to see more people coming down with the disease in the next days and weeks?” she said.
Hantavirus made headlines last year after the wife of Oscar-winning actor Gene Hackman died from a respiratory illness linked to the virus in March 2025.
