Two Irish people are on board a cruise ship in the Atlantic Ocean that is at the centre of a suspected hantavirus outbreak.
Three passengers have died following the outbreak, reported on the polar cruise ship MV Hondius, which was travelling between Argentina and Cape Verde, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).
The WHO said at least one case of hantavirus had been confirmed, with one patient in intensive care in a South African hospital. Two of those who died were a couple from the Netherlands.
The Irish passengers are among 149 people on board.
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Medics are currently working to evacuate two people with symptoms of the deadly hantavirus after a suspected outbreak on a luxury cruise ship held off West Africa carrying mostly British, American and Spanish passengers, officials said.
Orthohantaviruses, more commonly known as hantaviruses, are a group of viruses primarily found in rodents but that can infect humans.
Hantaviruses are spread to humans via inhalation of or contact with infected rodent faeces, urine and saliva – or, more rarely, through bites and scratches from contaminated animals.
The WHO said an investigation into the suspected hantavirus outbreak on MV Hondius was under way.
The MV Hondius, which was carrying about 150 passengers from various countries, left Ushuaia in Argentina about three weeks ago for the Canary Islands, stopping at a number of points, including Antarctica, the Falkland Islands, South Georgia, and Cape Verde, Foster Mohale, a spokesperson for the National Department of Health in South Africa, said.
One of the patients, a 70-year-old male passenger, became ill and was experiencing a fever, headache, abdominal pain and diarrhea, Mohale said.
The passenger died on arrival in St. Helena Island, he said, and his remains were awaiting repatriation to Netherlands.
The victim’s wife (69) also became ill on board and collapsed at the O.R. Tambo International Airport in South Africa while trying to fly home to the Netherlands. She was taken to a health facility, where she died.
The third patient was a British national who became ill while the ship was travelling from St. Helena to Ascension Island and was transferred from a hospital in Ascension to a private South African health facility in Sandton.
His laboratory test results came back positive for hantavirus, Mohale said.
There are at least 38 recognised species of hantavirus globally, 24 of which cause disease in humans. Rodents such as mice, rats and voles are the natural reservoirs for the viruses.
There are two major lineages of hantavirus: old world hantaviruses and new world hantaviruses.
Old world hantaviruses are found in Europe and Asia. Symptoms can include intense headaches, back and abdominal pain and fever, and potential kidney damage.
New world hantaviruses are found in the Americas. The most common type in South America is the Andes virus, which is primarily spread by the long-tailed pygmy rice rat.
In March 2025, Betsy Arakawa, the wife of actor Gene Hackman, was found to have died in their Santa Fe home from hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, prior to the death of her husband, who had Alzheimer’s, in the absence of her care.
“We don’t have a definitive antiviral [drug] that works really well,” Vinod Balasubramaniam, a molecular virologist at Monash University Malaysia, said. Infections were typically treated with supportive management, which made early diagnosis important, he added.
However, broad-spectrum antivirals are being researched for use as an early treatment.
For hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, supportive care includes oxygen, fluid management, blood pressure support and ventilation. – Guardian, The New York Times
