MV Hondius Hantavirus Outbreak: 2 Indian Crew Among 150 Onboard, WHO Rules Out Pandemic Risk
· Free Press Journal
London: At least two Indian nationals are part of the crew of the Dutch vessel MV Hondius which reported a hantavirus outbreak with five confirmed cases and three deaths so far, according to the BBC.
The luxury cruise ship, operated by Oceanwide Expeditions, began its journey on April 1 from Argentina’s Ushuaia and is expected to arrive in Spain’s Canary Islands on May 10.
Visit asg-reflektory.pl for more information.
About 150 passengers and crew from 28 countries were initially aboard the luxury cruise, but dozens disembarked on the island of St Helena on April 24, according to the report.
Of the 28 nationalities onboard, 38 are from the Philippines, 31 from the UK, 23 from the US, 16 from the Netherlands, 14 from Spain, nine from Germany, six from Canada, and two crew members from India, among others, the BBC reported.
The World Health Organization said on Thursday that five of the eight suspected hantavirus cases had been confirmed.
A 69-year-old Dutch woman, confirmed to have the virus, has died; her Dutch husband and a German woman were also among the fatalities. Their cases are being investigated.
A luxury cruise ship, the MV Hondius, which had been stranded since May 3 off the coast of Cape Verde following a deadly #hantavirus outbreak, departed for Spain on May 6.
— DD News (@DDNewslive) May 7, 2026
Three passengers had earlier been evacuated from the vessel, including two who were in serious condition.… pic.twitter.com/LPKUacTw9j
WHO's Maria Van Kerkhove on Hantavirus: "This is not coronavirus, this is a very different virus... This is not the start of a COVID pandemic." pic.twitter.com/yyx2gRsdMD
— ExtraOrdinary (@Extreo_) May 7, 2026
The UN health agency has said the outbreak is not the start of a pandemic.
Maria van Kerkhove, an infectious disease epidemiologist at WHO, told a news briefing that the situation is not the same as six years ago with Covid-19 because hantavirus spreads through “close, intimate contact”.
Van Kerkhove said “this is not Covid, this is not influenza, it spreads very, very differently”. She said authorities had asked “everyone to wear a mask” on board the MV Hondius.
Three suspected #hantavirus case patients have just been evacuated from the ship and are on their way to receive medical care in the Netherlands in coordination with @WHO, the ship’s operator and national authorities from Cabo Verde, the United Kingdom, Spain and the Netherlands.… pic.twitter.com/olQBk6tdGk
— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) May 6, 2026
Those in contact with or caring for suspected cases, she added, should “wear a higher level of personal protective equipment”.
Hantavirus typically spreads from rodents - but in the latest outbreak the transmission between people was documented for the first time, the WHO said.
Meanwhile, health authorities are racing to trace dozens of people who have recently disembarked from the Dutch vessel MV Hondius.
So far, eight cases of #hantavirus have been reported, including three deaths.
— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) May 7, 2026
While this is a serious incident, @WHO assesses the public health risk as low.
WHO will continue to work with all relevant governments and partners to provide care for those who are affected, protect… pic.twitter.com/NEBHXrqurT
Oceanwide Expedition said 29 passengers, of at least 12 different nationalities, had left the MV Hondius in St Helena, the British Overseas Territory.
It also said the body of one deceased person—now known to be a Dutch man - was taken off the vessel.
Seven of those who left the cruise liner were British nationals.
(Except for the headline, this article has not been edited by FPJ's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)