WHO Investigates Possible Hantavirus Human-to-Human Transmission on Cruise Ship
WHO says 5 confirmed cases and 3 deaths have prompted an investigation into possible close-contact spread on the cruise ship.
- As of May 4, the World Health Organization reported seven hantavirus cases linked to the Dutch-flagged expedition ship MV Hondius, including three deaths; the vessel remains anchored off Cape Verde after authorities denied docking permission.
- Health officials suspect the initial cases contracted the Andes virus via rodent exposure during an Argentine expedition, though WHO Director for Epidemic and Pandemic Preparedness and Prevention Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove said human-to-human transmission among close contacts cannot be ruled out.
- Nearly 150 people, including 88 passengers and 61 crew, are isolating in their cabins while Cape Verdean medical teams provide support; Oceanwide Expeditions confirmed the ship maintains the highest response level with strict hygiene protocols and medical monitoring.
- Authorities are coordinating medical evacuations for three symptomatic individuals to the Netherlands while the ship plans to proceed to the Canary Islands, where Spanish officials are currently reviewing the docking request for disinfection and investigation.
- Experts emphasize human-to-human hantavirus transmission remains rare, posing low risk to the wider public, while South Africa's National Institute for Communicable Diseases is sequencing the virus to confirm the specific strain and guide containment.
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Passengers are evacuated from cruise ship tied to hantavirus outbreak
Passengers and crew from a cruise ship hit by a deadly hantavirus outbreak were evacuated Sunday after the vessel anchored off Spain’s Canary Islands. Global health officials have sought to calm fears about the passengers’ return to their home countries…
Seventy years, a life as an ornithologist, Leo Schilperoord has been identified as the zero patient of the Hantavirus epidemic that has spread aboard the cruise ship Mv Hondius, causing the death of the same Dutch man, the wife and a German town. In total, at the moment, there are 9 infected but several other suspicious cases are recorded among the passengers of the boat, evacuated definitely in the past hours in the port of Tenerife. As already…
With her dead wife Mirjam, she had traveled to South America for five months before boarding the MV Hondius. The probable infection in a dump avoided by locals and birdwatching enthusiasts
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