Cruise ship waiting for help after 3 people died in a suspected hantavirus outbreak

Key developments are emerging from the global stage. World Cruise ship waiting for help after 3 people died in a suspected hantavirus outbreak May 5, 2026 1:49 AM ET By The Associated Press The MV Hondius cruise ship is anchored at a port in Praia, Cape Verde, Monday, May 4, 2026. Arilson Almeida/AP hide caption toggle caption Arilson Almeida/AP CAPE TOWN, South Africa — A cruise ship with nearly 150 people aboard was waiting for help off the coast of Cape Verde in the Atlantic Ocean on Monday after three passengers died and at least three other people were left seriously ill in a suspected outbreak of the rare hantavirus, according to the World Health Organization and the ship's operator. World Hantavirus outbreak kills 3 on cruise ship in the Atlantic Ocean, WHO says The MV Hondius, a Dutch ship on a weekslong polar cruise from Argentina to Antarctica and several isolated islands in the South Atlantic, had requested help from local health authorities after making its way to the island of Cape Verde, off the West Africa coast.

But no one has been allowed to disembark, Netherlands-based operator Oceanwide Expeditions said. Cape Verde's Health Ministry said Monday that for now, it will not allow the ship to dock because of public health concerns and that it would stay in open waters close to shore. Sponsor Message Hantavirus is a rodent-borne illness spread by contact with rodents or their urine, saliva or droppings.

The Details

WHO says that while it is rare, hantavirus may spread between people. It was unclear how an outbreak could have started, and WHO said it was investigating while working to coordinate the evacuation of two sick crew members. Another sick person — a British man evacuated to South Africa on April 27 — tested positive for the virus, authorities said.

He is in critical condition and isolated in intensive care, health officials said. The body of one of the passengers who died — a German — remains on the ship, according to an Oceanwide Expeditions statement. A 70-year-old Dutch man died onboard April 11, and his 69-year-old wife died later in South Africa after leaving the ship, officials said.

Her blood later tested positive for the virus, making two confirmed cases, South Africa's health minister said. Among the 87 remaining passengers, 17 are Americans, 19 are from the U. and 13 from Spain, according to Oceanwide Expeditions.

What Experts Say

Sixty-one crew members also are onboard. Cruise operator says 2 ill crew members urgently need care Two sick crew members — one British, one Dutch — have respiratory symptoms and need urgent medical care, Oceanwide said in its statement. Sponsor Message Cape Verde has sent a medical team of two doctors, a nurse and a laboratory specialist to the ship over three trips, said Dr.

Ann Lindstrand, a WHO official in Cape Verde. She told The Associated Press in an interview that they were planning for medical evacuations, in which passengers would be taken from the ship via ambulance to an airport. "It's been very tricky for Cape Verdean authorities," Lindstrand said.

The development has drawn wide international attention, with diplomatic circles watching closely.