The Dutch-flagged cruise ship MV Hondius, at the centre of a rare hantavirus outbreak, will see two ill passengers evacuated to the Netherlands, the vessel's operator Oceanwide Expeditions confirmed on Tuesday. However, the company did not specify when the transfer would take place.
“The medical evacuation of two individuals currently requiring urgent medical care and the individual associated with the guest who passed away on 2 May, will occur using two specialised aircraft that are en route to Cape Verde,” the company said in a statement. Once the evacuees are in transit, the ship will head for the Canary Islands — either Gran Canaria or Tenerife — a journey expected to take three days.
The outbreak has drawn international attention since Saturday, when it emerged that hantavirus, a disease typically spread through rodent urine, droppings, or saliva, was suspected of causing the deaths of three passengers. The virus can lead to severe respiratory or kidney complications.
WHO Contact Tracing Underway
The World Health Organisation (WHO) announced on Tuesday that it is tracing passengers who were on a flight from the remote British island of Saint Helena to Johannesburg, taken by one of the deceased. The flight, operated by South African carrier Airlink on 25 April, carried 82 passengers and six crew members.
Among them was a Dutch woman whose husband died of the virus on the ship. She had left the vessel in Saint Helena on 24 April with gastrointestinal symptoms, flew the next day, and died upon arrival at a Johannesburg hospital emergency department on 26 April. Tests for hantavirus came back positive on 4 May.
“Contact tracing for passengers on the flight has been initiated,” the WHO said in a statement, adding that it suspects the virus may have spread between people on the cruise ship itself. Besides the Dutch couple, a German passenger has also died. There are two confirmed and five suspected cases.
The WHO’s involvement underscores the potential for the outbreak to cross borders, given the ship’s itinerary and the flight connections. The agency is working with South African and European health authorities to monitor the situation.
Saint Helena on Alert
Saint Helena, a British overseas territory with around 4,400 residents, said that passengers from the MV Hondius had come ashore and that some locals were being asked to isolate. “Two passengers with minor symptoms came ashore and may have had some contact with members of our local community,” the island’s government said in a statement. “While the virus can be serious, no cases of this illness have been identified in St Helena and there is no significant cause for concern on the island at this time.”
The outbreak has raised questions about cruise ship health protocols and the challenges of containing rare diseases in remote locations. For more on the broader implications, see our earlier coverage: Hantavirus Outbreak on Dutch Cruise Ship: European Health Agency Says Risk to Public Remains Very Low and Suspected Hantavirus Outbreak on Dutch Cruise Ship Claims Three Lives in the Atlantic.
The MV Hondius, operated by the Netherlands-based Oceanwide Expeditions, had been on a voyage that included stops in the Atlantic. The company has not yet commented on the financial impact or future itineraries, but the incident is likely to prompt a review of health screening procedures on expedition cruises. For context on the cruise industry’s economic footprint, see Cruise Tourism Generates One Job per 20 Passengers, WTTC Report Shows.
As the evacuation plans remain fluid, European health authorities are coordinating with the WHO to ensure that any further cases are quickly identified and isolated. The Netherlands, as the ship’s flag state and the home of the operator, is taking a lead role in managing the response.
