Three people have died on a cruise ship in the Atlantic after a suspected outbreak of a deadly rodent virus.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) said one of the deaths on-board the MH Hondius cruise ship is a confirmed case of hantavirus, an illness usually transmitted to humans from rodents.
The cruise ship has been travelling from Ushuaia in Argentina to Cape Verde.
At least one man, believed to be a 69-year-old British national, is fighting for life in hospital from the outbreak.
“To date, one case of hantavirus infection has been laboratory confirmed, and there are five additional suspected cases,” the WHO told AFP.
“Of the six affected individuals, three have died and one is currently in intensive care in South Africa.”
Earlier, South Africa’s health ministry told AFP there had been an outbreak of a “severe acute respiratory illness”, which had killed at least two people, with a third in intensive care in Johannesburg.
The patient treated in Johannesburg tested positive for a hantavirus, a family of viruses that can cause haemorrhagic fever, South African spokesperson Foster Mohale said.
In its statement, the WHO said: “Hantavirus infections are typically linked to environmental exposure (exposure to infected rodents’ urine or faeces).
“While rare, hantavirus may spread between people, and can lead to severe respiratory illness and requires careful patient monitoring, support and response.”
The virus is the same virus that infected Hollywood actor Gene Hackman’s wife Betsy before the couple were found dead in their New Mexico home in 2025.
The first person to develop symptoms on the MH Hondius was a 70-year-old passenger. He died on board the ship and his body was currently on the island of Saint Helena, a British territory in the South Atlantic, the South African spokesman Mr Mohale said.
His 69-year-old wife also fell ill on board and was evacuated to South Africa, where she died in a Johannesburg hospital, he said, adding that they were not yet able to confirm the victims’ nationalities.
The third case, a 69-year-old Briton, was also evacuated to Johannesburg, where he was being treated in intensive care.
A source close to the case speaking on condition of anonymity had said a Dutch couple were among the dead. The third fatality was still on board the ship.
Discussions were under way to decide whether two other sick passengers should be placed in isolation in hospital in Cape Verde, after which the ship would continue to Spain’s Canary Islands, the anonymous source said.
The WHO said it was “facilitating co-ordination” between national authorities and the ship’s operators to organise the medical evacuation of two passengers with symptoms.
The MV Hondius is listed as a polar cruise ship on the websites of several travel agencies. It is operated by a Dutch-based tour company, Oceanwide Expeditions.
One of the cruises offers an itinerary departing from Ushuaia for Cape Verde, with stops in the islands of South Georgia and Saint Helena.
According to several online ship-tracking sites, the MV Hondius was just off the port of Praia, the capital of Cape Verde, on Sunday.
The vessel can accommodate around 170 passengers and has some 70 crew members. Humans can catch hantaviruses from contact with infected mice or rats or their droppings, or being bitten or inhaling contaminated dust. There are multiple types of hantaviruses in different parts of the world, with different symptoms.
AFP contacted the cruise operator Oceanwide Expeditions but has not yet had a reply.
