08 May,2026 04:34 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Three suspected hantavirus patients were evacuated from the ship and airlifted to the Netherlands for advanced medical care, earlier in the week. PIC/X
A rare hantavirus outbreak on board the Dutch-flagged luxury expedition cruise ship MV Hondius has claimed three lives and left health authorities across multiple countries on high alert. At least two Indian nationals are part of the crew on the vessel, which is currently sailing towards Spain's Canary Islands.
The ship, operated by Oceanwide Expeditions, was carrying around 150 passengers and crew from nearly 28 nationalities when the outbreak unfolded. While most passengers are tourists, the presence of two Indian crew members has drawn attention in India as global contact-tracing efforts continue.
Hantavirus is primarily rodent-borne but can, in rare cases, spread from person to person. The strain involved is believed to be the Andes virus. The World Health Organisation has described the risk to the general public as low.
April 1: The MV Hondius departs from Ushuaia in southern Argentina for a voyage that includes stops in Antarctica and remote South Atlantic islands.
April 6: A 70-year-old Dutch man develops fever, headache and mild diarrhoea. He and his wife had toured parts of Argentina and Chile before boarding.
April 11: The Dutch man dies on board from respiratory distress. The exact cause remains unclear at the time.
April 15: The ship stops at Tristan da Cunha. Six new passengers join while the deceased man's body remains on board.
April 24: The body is offloaded at St Helena. The Dutch man's wife and over two dozen other passengers disembark.
April 25-26: The Dutch woman, showing symptoms, flies from St Helena to South Africa. She collapses at an airport on April 26 while trying to board another flight and later dies.
April 27: A British man falls seriously ill on the ship and is evacuated to Ascension Island, then to South Africa, where he is admitted to intensive care with high fever, breathing difficulties and pneumonia-like symptoms.
April 28: A German woman develops symptoms while the ship sails towards Cape Verde.
May 2: The German woman dies on board - the third fatality. On the same day, South African authorities confirm hantavirus in the British passenger.
May 3-4: The World Health Organisation (WHO) acknowledges a suspected outbreak. South Africa later confirms hantavirus in the Dutch woman posthumously. The ship reaches Cape Verde waters.
May 5-6: Cape Verde authorities restrict disembarkation. Three seriously ill people, including two crew members (one being the ship's doctor), are evacuated to Europe after testing positive. The ship is allowed to proceed to the Canary Islands. Switzerland confirms another case from a passenger who disembarked earlier at St Helena.
May 7: Health authorities in several countries, including Switzerland, Britain, Netherlands, South Africa and others, begin tracing and isolating former passengers and their contacts. The ship, with over 140 people still on board, continues towards Tenerife. No new symptomatic cases are reported on board as of the latest updates.
According to reports, the two Indian crew members remain on the vessel along with other crew and passengers. Their current health status has not been publicly disclosed. The Indian government and diplomatic missions have been monitoring the situation closely, though no specific advisory for Indian nationals has been issued so far.
The luxury expedition cruise initially had people from countries including the Philippines, UK, US, Netherlands, Spain, Germany and Canada, among others. Authorities continue contact-tracing efforts across continents as the ship heads to its final destination.
(With PTI and AP inputs)
