Rare virus outbreak on Dutch expedition ship leaves three dead

Three people have died and a UK national is in a critical condition in hospital in South Africa following a suspected hantavirus outbreak aboard a small cruise ship in the Atlantic.

The ship’s operator, the Netherlands-based Oceanwide Expeditions, said the deceased include a Dutch couple and a German passenger, although the exact cause of death has not yet been confirmed, reports the BBC.

The company, however, has confirmed that a 69-year-old British man being treated in intensive care in Johannesburg has tested positive for hantavirus.

Hantavirus is typically spread from rodents to humans through contact with contaminated droppings, saliva, or urine, and can lead to serious respiratory illness. Human-to-human transmission is uncommon.

According to the operator, two crew members currently remain on board the MV Hondius showing respiratory symptoms—one mild and one more severe—and both require urgent medical attention. No other cases have been reported so far.

The vessel is currently located off the coast of Cape Verde and has 149 people on board. Discussions are ongoing with local authorities in response to what the company has called a “serious medical situation.”

Oceanwide Expeditions said the situation began when a passenger became ill during the voyage and died on April 11. His cause of death remains unclear. His body was later removed when the ship docked at St Helena on 24 April.

The man’s wife also disembarked at St Helena. The company said she had fallen ill during the return journey and later died.

On April 27, the company reported that another passenger, the British national, had fallen seriously ill and was medically evacuated to South Africa.

The 69-year-old is now in Johannesburg, where they remain in a critical but stable condition after tests confirmed a strain of hantavirus, the BBC reports.

Oceanwide Expeditions also said that a third passenger aboard the MV Hondius died on Saturday. The causes of the deaths are still under investigation.

South African authorities stated that the vessel had set sail from Ushuaia in southern Argentina around three weeks earlier before completing its voyage to Cape Verde, where it is now anchored off the coast near the capital, Praia.

The MV Hondius is a 107.6-metre polar expedition cruise ship designed to carry up to 170 passengers in 80 cabins.

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