A developing hantavirus outbreak linked to the cruise liner MV Hondius is now under close international watch after another passenger was diagnosed in Switzerland, deepening concern around an illness that has already claimed lives and triggered a scramble by health authorities in South Africa and abroad.
The latest case involves a passenger who had been on the ship during its first leg from Ushuaia to St Helena between 1 and 24 April, according to Oceanwide Expedition spokesperson Kiki Hirschfeldt. She said the man only became ill after he had already disembarked, and is now being treated in a Swiss hospital. His wife, who was also on the cruise, has not developed symptoms and is self-isolating.
That diagnosis lifts the number of confirmed hantavirus cases to three, with another five suspected infections still under investigation. The outbreak has also been linked to three deaths, while several other passengers and contacts have reported illness, adding urgency to the monitoring effort now under way.
South African Health Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi has been trying to calm public anxiety, telling Parliament that the cases linked to the ship are serious but should not be mistaken for a new pandemic-style threat. He stressed that this is not a novel virus like SARS-CoV-2, the pathogen behind Covid-19, and said there is no reason for panic.
His remarks came as attention turned to the two passengers evacuated to South Africa: a Dutch woman who collapsed at OR Tambo International Airport and later died, and a British man who remains in a Johannesburg hospital. Motsoaledi told MPs that both had the Andes strain of hantavirus, the variant known to spread from person to person.
That point matters because most other hantaviruses are typically passed on through rodent droppings, urine or saliva, rather than through close human contact. In South Africa, the concern has also prompted questions about local animal exposure, but experts have pushed back on that theory.
Professor Lucille Blumberg of the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) said African rodents have never tested positive for hantaviruses, directly addressing speculation that local infestations may be to blame. That clarification is significant, especially as public fears tend to rise quickly when an unfamiliar virus is linked to a ship, an airport and several cross-border movements.
The World Health Organization has traced the outbreak back to a Dutch couple aged 70 and 69 who visited Argentina, where the Andes virus is endemic, before boarding the MV Hondius on 1 April. Both have since died. The husband died on board on 11 April, while the wife later collapsed at OR Tambo on 2 May and died after emergency medical intervention.
The death toll also includes a German tourist who died aboard the vessel, while a British passenger was flown to a private hospital in Johannesburg for treatment following an emergency evacuation. As we reported earlier, the situation has been complicated by the fact that symptoms may appear only after travellers have already moved through several jurisdictions.
Motsoaledi said the Dutch woman had originally passed through OR Tambo Airport without being flagged because she was asymptomatic and cleared temperature screening while travelling on a transit visa to repatriate her husband’s body. Her condition only became obvious when she collapsed at the airport, prompting an urgent transfer to a hospital in Kempton Park.
Health authorities have since identified 62 possible contacts, including airport staff, first responders and fellow passengers. Of those, 42 people have already been traced, and all contacts will be monitored for up to six weeks to cover the virus’s incubation period. That kind of follow-up is routine in outbreaks with delayed symptom onset, but it is resource-intensive and requires close coordination across borders.
Hantavirus outbreak on MV Hondius puts South Africa and Europe on alert
On Wednesday, Hirschfeldt confirmed that three patients had been medically evacuated from the MV Hondius. Two were in a serious condition, although neither had tested positive for hantavirus, while the third had shown no symptoms but had been closely linked to the German tourist who died on the ship.
She also said the ship’s medical team would be reinforced by two infectious disease specialists from the Netherlands, a sign that the vessel’s operators are treating the matter as a high-priority health incident. The MV Hondius is currently headed for the Canary Islands, but its future route remains uncertain.
Negotiations with regional authorities are still underway over whether passengers will be allowed to disembark, and if so, under what conditions. Hirschfeldt told reporters that travel arrangements for guests remain unclear because everything depends on medical advice and the outcome of strict screening procedures. She said the company continues to work closely with local and international authorities.
Reuters reported that Spain has agreed to allow the ship to dock at Tenerife in the Canary Islands within the next three days, though official confirmation from all parties has been slow and careful. That caution reflects the sensitivity around any possible spread, especially when passengers may have already travelled internationally.
The WHO’s Director-General Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus has also weighed in, saying the overall risk of a wider outbreak remains low. Even so, the organisation continues to monitor both passengers still on the ship and those who have already disembarked, which suggests this is far from over.
For South Africa, the issue is more than a distant maritime health scare. The fact that passengers were evacuated through OR Tambo International Airport, and that one of the confirmed deaths occurred after arrival here, has placed local health systems and border-screening processes under the spotlight.
What is clear is that the MV Hondius hantavirus outbreak has become a multi-country public health operation, with South African authorities, the WHO and the cruise operator all trying to stay ahead of a fast-moving and deadly infection. For now, officials insist the risk remains contained, but the next few days will be critical as tests, tracing and travel decisions continue to unfold.