Health authorities in several countries, including five U.S. states, are monitoring passengers who disembarked the Dutch cruise ship MV Hondius after officials confirmed the virus found on board is the Andes strain of hantavirus, which can spread between people.
The World Health Organization said at a Thursday press briefing that at least 12 countries are tracking people who left the ship before hantavirus cases were identified. Those countries are Canada, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States.
In the U.S., five states reported monitoring passengers: Georgia and Texas each identified two people, Virginia and Arizona each identified one, and California reported an unspecified number. State health departments say none of those individuals are showing symptoms. Arizona officials said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention alerted them on May 5 about one known passenger; local public health will monitor that person for 42 days from departure. CDC leadership said it has been coordinating with domestic and international partners since learning of the outbreak.
The Hondius, operated by Oceanwide Expeditions, was anchored off the west coast of Africa near Cabo Verde during the response. The ship left Cape Verde and was headed north toward the Canary Islands; Spanish authorities said the vessel would be allowed to anchor off the islands but not to dock at Tenerife.
At least three people connected to the cruise have died, including a Dutch couple and a German woman, the WHO reported. Oceanwide said the husband in the Dutch couple died on board on April 11; no samples were taken at the time because his symptoms resembled other respiratory illnesses, WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said. Thirty guests disembarked the Hondius on April 24 in the remote island of Saint Helena and later returned independently to their home countries. Among them was the wife of the Dutch man who had died; her condition worsened during travel from Saint Helena to Johannesburg on April 25. She briefly boarded a KLM flight in Johannesburg but was not allowed to continue because of her condition, and she died in South Africa the following day. KLM was later notified that her blood tested positive for the Andes strain and informed other passengers on that flight.
A British passenger who showed symptoms on the ship was evacuated April 27 to South Africa, and his case was confirmed as hantavirus on May 4. He remains hospitalized but was reported to be improving. Officials also said another person who disembarked in Saint Helena tested positive in Switzerland for the Andes strain. Three people with suspected infection were airlifted from the ship, including German and Dutch passengers and a British crew member; the Dutch passenger and British crew member were being treated in the Netherlands and described as stable, while the German passenger was reported asymptomatic and returned to Germany.
Canada reported three asymptomatic people under monitoring: two who left the ship in Saint Helena and one who was on the same flight as the Dutch woman who later died. Two were being followed in Ontario and one in Quebec. The U.K. Health Security Agency said two British passengers who returned independently to the U.K. are being monitored and advised to self-isolate; neither has symptoms.
South African authorities identified the virus as the Andes strain, a form of hantavirus largely found in Argentina and Chile and notable because it can be transmitted between people. The WHO noted that human-to-human transmission of Andes virus in prior outbreaks has usually involved close, prolonged contact — among household members, intimate partners or caregivers — and said that pattern appears relevant in this situation.
Despite the seriousness of cases and deaths linked to the MV Hondius, health experts say the risk of a large-scale outbreak remains low. CBS News medical correspondent Dr. Céline Gounder said the pandemic risk is low because hantavirus does not spread like influenza or COVID-19, but she also noted that the incident is a test of global public-health systems. WHO and national health authorities are working to trace contacts and understand movements of infected passengers; the agency said it is cooperating closely with Argentina, where the Andes strain is endemic.
Argentina’s health ministry offered technical support and said the strain has a history of circulation in parts of southern Argentina and Chile. The ministry noted that the Dutch couple had traveled in Argentina, Chile and Uruguay before boarding the Hondius on April 1 and had visited areas where the rodent species that carry Andes virus are present. WHO representatives said they are working with Argentine authorities to trace the couple’s movements.
U.S. officials, state health departments, WHO and other international agencies continue to monitor contacts, notify potentially exposed travelers where appropriate, and advise close contacts to watch for symptoms. While investigations proceed, public-health guidance emphasizes that human-to-human spread of Andes hantavirus typically requires close and prolonged exposure, which limits community transmission risk.
President Trump said on Thursday night that he had been briefed and expressed optimism that the situation would be contained, adding that teams were studying the outbreak and a full report was expected soon. Health authorities emphasize ongoing surveillance and contact tracing as they work to prevent further cases.