The World Health Organization reported on Tuesday two confirmed cases of hantavirus, one more than previously, and five others suspected in connection with the outbreak detected on a Dutch cruise ship stranded in Cape Verde. She now suspects that there was “human-to-human transmission”.

Published on: 05/05/2026 - 12:13 Modified on: 05/05/2026 - 1:22 p.m.

The World Health Organization (WHO) reported on Tuesday, May 5, two confirmed cases of hantavirus and five others suspected in connection with the outbreak which has already caused three deaths on a Dutch cruise ship stranded in Cape Verde, in the Atlantic.

The possibility of “human transmission” is now being considered. “Given the length of the hantavirus incubation period, which can vary between one and six weeks, we assume that they were infected outside the ship” and “we believe that there could be human-to-human transmission among people in very close contact,” Maria Van Kerkhove, acting director of the WHO's epidemic and pandemic prevention and preparedness department, told reporters.

Also read: What is hantavirus, the virus responsible for a possible cluster on a cruise ship?

The ship, the MV Hondius, was traveling from Ushuaia, Argentina, to the Cape Verde archipelago, and has only 147 people on board, according to the WHO information bulletin.

Where to disembark passengers still on board?

The boat still does not know where to dock: refused at the port of Praia, the capital of Cape Verde, it should head towards the Spanish archipelago of the Canaries, said the WHO, indicating that Spain had given its agreement. However, the Spanish Ministry of Health appeared to deny this information, affirming that "no decision" on docking would be taken until "the epidemiological data" had been analyzed.

During an interview on Radio Canaria, the vice-president of the Canary Islands regional government, Manuel Domínguez, said on Tuesday that it would be "preferable" for the ship not to stop in the archipelago and instead go to the Spanish mainland.

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The WHO says it was informed on Saturday that passengers suffering from serious respiratory illness were on board.

“As of May 4, 2026, seven cases (two laboratory-confirmed cases of hantavirus and five suspected cases) have been identified, including three deaths, one patient in critical condition (currently in intensive care in Johannesburg, South Africa, Editor's note) and three people”, who are on board, detailed the WHO.

The first suspected case is that of a 70-year-old Dutchman who, on April 6, "presented symptoms of fever, headache and mild diarrhea on board the ship", explained the WHO. On April 11, his condition worsened and he died the same day. No microbiological tests were carried out.

The ship's operator, Oceanwide Expeditions, said his body was landed on the island of St Helena (UK) on April 24, accompanied by his wife, aged 69, who has since died.

This Dutch woman presented "gastrointestinal symptoms" and she flew back the next day to Johannesburg, where she was hospitalized before her death on April 26, the WHO said.

St Helena-Johannesburg flight passengers sought

It was only on Monday that his hantavirus infection could be confirmed.

Previously, a first confirmed case of hantavirus, a disease generally transmitted to humans by rodents, had been recorded in a British passenger, who also disembarked and placed in intensive care in Johannesburg.

“Research has been launched to find the passengers” of the Saint Helena-Johannesburg flight taken by the sick Dutch woman, added the WHO.

On the boat, medical teams came on board to examine sick people.

The islands of Las Palmas and Tenerife, in the Spanish Canary archipelago, are "considered" for disembarking passengers, Oceanwide Expeditions said in a statement Monday, specifying that "strict precautionary" and "isolation" measures are being applied.

With AFP

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