The World Health Organization (WHO) has confirmed two cases of hantavirus and identified five additional suspected infections among passengers aboard a cruise ship stranded off Cape Verde, with three deaths recorded.
In a statement issued Tuesday, the UN health agency said it is tracing passengers who were on an April 25 flight between Saint Helena and Johannesburg, taken by one of the infected passengers who died the following day.
“As of May 4, 2026, seven cases — including two laboratory-confirmed and five suspected — have been identified, comprising three deaths, one critically ill patient, and three individuals with mild symptoms,” WHO said.
The cases were linked to a voyage by the MV Hondius, operated by Oceanwide Expeditions, which was travelling from Ushuaia to Cape Verde. WHO noted that illness onset among affected individuals occurred between April 6 and 28.
According to the agency, symptoms included fever, gastrointestinal complications, and rapid progression to pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, and shock. It added that investigations are ongoing.
WHO assessed the overall risk to the global population as low but said it continues to monitor the situation closely.
The vessel is carrying 147 people from 23 nationalities, including passengers from the United Kingdom, Spain, and the United States, as well as crew members from the Philippines.
A British passenger is currently in intensive care in Johannesburg, while two crew members — one British and one Dutch — require urgent medical attention, the operator said.
Of the seven identified cases, three individuals are no longer on board, while four remain on the ship, including a German national who died on Saturday.
The first fatalities involved a Dutch couple. The husband died on board on April 11, while his wife later died after disembarking in Saint Helena to accompany his body. WHO said she had initially shown gastrointestinal symptoms before deteriorating during her flight to Johannesburg on April 25. She died upon arrival at a hospital the following day, with her infection confirmed by PCR testing on May 4.
WHO said contact tracing for passengers on the flight is underway.
Hantavirus infection is a rare but potentially fatal disease, typically transmitted through exposure to the urine, faeces, or saliva of infected rodents, though limited human-to-human transmission has been recorded in past outbreaks.
