Hantavirus Outbreak Kills Three Aboard Dutch-Flagged MV Hondius Off Cape Verde

A hantavirus outbreak aboard the Dutch-flagged MV Hondius has left three people dead and at least four people sick, while the ship waits off Cape Verde as authorities coordinate next steps. The World Health Organization said passengers are isolating in their cabins, and the operator Oceanwide Expeditions said it plans to move to Spain’s Canary Islands once three people have been medically evacuated and put on specially equipped planes to the Netherlands. The BBC reported that the ship, which has 146 people on board, has begun a three-day journey to the Canary Islands after three people were medically evacuated from the MV Hondius to the Netherlands. WHO also said eight cases of hantavirus—three confirmed and five suspected—have been identified in people who were on the ship, as testing to confirm whether other people on board have contracted the virus is ongoing. In parallel, WHO expert Anais Legand told AFP that the first hantavirus case “could not have been infected on the ship,” because the incubation period is between one and six weeks and “very clearly had exposure before boarding the ship.”

“Emergency crews have evacuated three people from a cruise ship hit by a deadly hantavirus outbreak, the United Nations’ health agency says, as experts confirm it to be a rare strain that can be transmitted between humans”

Al Jazeera

As the MV Hondius remained anchored off Cape Verde, emergency crews evacuated three people on Wednesday, including two sick crew members and one other person who had been in contact with one of the confirmed cases, the WHO said. The BBC reported that none of the three evacuees have tested positive for hantavirus so far, but two are showing symptoms, while Spain’s health minister Mónica García said all those on board have no symptoms and that everyone will undergo a medical assessment when they arrive in Tenerife. Canary Islands president Fernando Clavijo said, “I cannot allow [the boat] to enter the Canaries,” and demanded an urgent meeting with Spain’s prime minister, while Spain’s health minister said the ship is expected to dock in Tenerife within three days. The BBC also reported that the WHO said eight cases of hantavirus—three confirmed and five suspected—have been identified, and that Dr Maria Van Kerkhove said the way hantavirus is transmitted “is very different than COVID and flu.” Meanwhile, AFP reported Legand’s assessment that the first case must have been infected before boarding, and that the first case began showing symptoms including fever, headache and mild diarrhoea on April 6 and died on April 11.

With the ship heading toward Spain’s Canary Islands, authorities are preparing a protocol for medical assessment, evacuation, and repatriation, while WHO and other agencies continue contact tracing. Euronews said the remaining passengers, who show no symptoms, are scheduled to disembark this Saturday in Tenerife, and that the European evacuation and repatriation mechanism will be activated, with the vessel docking at the port of Granadilla de Abona before foreign travelers return to their home countries. Euronews also reported that the WHO has identified eight cases as of 6 May, including three deaths, one critically ill patient, and three individuals reporting mild symptoms, and that the procedure includes “avoiding all contact with the local population and guaranteeing the safety of health personnel at all times.” Separately, the AP reported that the ship’s nearly 150 passengers and crew waited another day off the coast of West Africa, with Oceanwide Expeditions saying it plans to sail to the Canary Islands once three people have been medically evacuated. The BBC added that the UK’s Health Security Agency said two British people were self-isolating at home in the UK after potential exposure on the ship, and that KLM issued an advisory about a Dutch woman who had been briefly aboard a flight from Johannesburg to Amsterdam on 25 April. In WHO’s framing, the key scientific uncertainty is whether any human-to-human transmission occurred, and Legand told AFP that the first case “very clearly had exposure before boarding the ship,” while also stating that the Andes virus can be transmitted between humans only in cases of close contact.

“Hantavirus-hit cruise ship leaves Cape Verde after three evacuated A Dutch cruise ship hit with a hantavirus outbreak has left Cape Verde, after three people on board were medically evacuated”

BBC