Factbox-What we know about the cruise ship passengers affected by hantavirus
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Cruise ship MV Hondius docks off Cape Verde port, as passengers were not allowed off the ship, while health authorities investigated suspected cases of hantavirus aboard the vessel, in Praia Port, Cape Verde, May 4, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer
JOHANNESBURG, May 5 (Reuters) - Seven passengers on a cruise ship in the Atlantic Ocean, including three who have died, are either confirmed or suspected to have hantavirus, according to the World Health Organization.
Here are some facts about the passengers, based on information shared by the WHO and national authorities:
- The first person to die on the ship was a 70-year-old man from the Netherlands. He developed symptoms of fever, headache, and mild diarrhoea on April 6 and died on April 11 after experiencing respiratory distress. His body was removed from the vessel on the island of Saint Helena on April 24.
- The second death was the 69-year-old wife of the first patient. She fell ill aboard the ship and disembarked at Saint Helena. She was flown to Johannesburg, South Africa, on April 25 where she was meant to take a connecting flight to the Netherlands, but collapsed at the airport in Johannesburg and died at a nearby hospital on April 26.
- The third case was a British man who fell ill on board the ship after it left Saint Helena. He disembarked at Ascension Island where he received treatment and was medically evacuated to South Africa on April 27. He remains hospitalised and is in isolation in an intensive care unit in Johannesburg.
- The fourth case was a German woman who died on the ship on May 2, after developing symptoms five days earlier.
- Three more suspected cases have reported a fever and/or gastrointestinal symptoms and remain on board the ship, which is moored off the coast of Cape Verde. Medical teams in Cape Verde are evaluating the patients and collecting specimens for testing, according to the WHO.
(Reporting by Nellie Peyton; Editing by Alison Williams)
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