Cape Verde has denied permission to dock to the MV Hondius, a Dutch-flagged polar cruise ship carrying nearly 150 passengers and crew, after the World Health Organization confirmed seven cases of hantavirus on board — including three deaths — linked to an outbreak that began weeks into a voyage through some of the South Atlantic's most remote waters. The vessel remains anchored off Praia, the Cape Verdean capital, while medical evacuations are coordinated and authorities investigate the origin and strain of the virus.
The Hondius departed Ushuaia, Argentina, on March 20 with around 150 passengers of 23 nationalities on a polar expedition cruise. Its itinerary took it through Antarctica, the Falkland Islands, South Georgia, the remote British territories of Tristan da Cunha and Saint Helena, and Ascension Island before arriving in Cape Verdean waters on May 3. Three people have died: a Dutch man aged 69, who fell ill on April 6 with fever, headaches and mild diarrhoea and died on April 11 aboard the vessel near Saint Helena; his wife, aged 69, who died after disembarking in South Africa and was subsequently confirmed positive for hantavirus; and a German passenger who died on May 2, whose cause of death has not yet been formally established. A 69-year-old British passenger remains hospitalised in critical condition at a private clinic in Johannesburg. Two crew members — one British and one Dutch — also require urgent medical attention aboard the ship. Of the seven WHO-identified cases, two have been laboratory-verified. All passengers have been tested, though results are pending.
Cape Verde's Health Ministry said the decision to refuse docking was taken as a precaution to protect the local population. A Cape Verdean medical team did board the vessel to assess symptomatic patients and provide treatment. Passengers have been instructed to remain in their cabins and maintain distance from one another. The Netherlands is coordinating consular assistance and preparing a specialised air evacuation. Authorities are also evaluating whether the ship could continue toward the Canary Islands, a Spanish archipelago off the northwest African coast.
Experts and WHO officials have flagged the ship's Argentine departure point as epidemiologically significant. The Andes virus — found in Argentina and Chile — is the only known hantavirus variant with documented human-to-human transmission, distinguishing it from other strains which typically spread through contact with infected rodents. Genetic sequencing is under way to identify the specific strain responsible. Disease onset among those infected was recorded between April 6 and April 28, and symptoms ranged from fever and gastrointestinal illness to rapidly progressing pneumonia, respiratory failure and shock.
WHO Regional Director for Europe Hans Henri Kluge sought to reassure the public, stating that "the risk to the wider public remains low" and that there was "no need for panic or travel restrictions." The organisation is working with affected countries on evacuations and epidemiological investigations. The operator, Dutch company Oceanwide Expeditions, has not yet publicly addressed questions about when hantavirus was first suspected during the voyage.