By Frank Andrews / May 6, 2026 / CBS News
Three people suspected of having hantavirus were evacuated from the Dutch-flagged cruise ship MV Hondius and are being sent to the Netherlands for treatment, the World Health Organization said Wednesday. The evacuees are British, German and Dutch; the British national is a crew member. The rare outbreak has already killed three people.
The ship’s planned stop in the Canary Islands — part of an arrangement by the Spanish government and WHO to allow a “full investigation” and inspection after the evacuations — was rejected by the archipelago’s regional leader, Fernando Clavijo. Clavijo, of the conservative opposition, said he had not been sufficiently consulted and has requested a meeting with Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. A flight to evacuate a sick doctor to the Canary Islands was canceled, a regional source told AFP.
South African authorities confirmed Wednesday that they identified the Andes strain of hantavirus in two people who had been on the cruise; the Andes strain, seen mainly in Argentina and Chile, can spread person-to-person, unlike most hantavirus strains. Swiss authorities also said a man who traveled on the ship and returned to Switzerland at the end of April tested positive for the Andes strain. Swiss officials said there is currently no risk to the Swiss public. The WHO says there are eight confirmed cases in total.
Oceanwide Expeditions, the ship’s operator, said two infectious-disease specialists were en route from the Netherlands to the vessel and will remain with it after its anticipated departure from Cape Verde, where the Hondius has been anchored since Sunday. The MV Hondius departed Ushuaia, Argentina, on April 1.
Ann Lindstrand, the WHO representative in Cape Verde, told CBS News there is no indication of a pandemic-level threat given the low likelihood of human-to-human transmission overall. Spanish and Dutch authorities are “intensely discussing” next steps. Passengers have been told to stay in their cabins as much as possible. If health authorities require it, a quarantine could last up to eight weeks, reflecting hantavirus’ incubation period of one to eight weeks. Lindstrand said passengers are anxious but “coping surprisingly well,” according to a volunteer doctor on board.