Three hantavirus patients evacuated from cruise ship off Cape Verde
Argentina CountryCabo Verde CountryChile CountryFalkland Islands CountryNetherlands CountrySouth Africa CountrySpain Country
(6 May 2026) RESTRICTION SUMMARY: ASSOCIATED PRESS Praia, Cape Verde - 6 May 2026 1. Various hantavirus patients arrive on shore and then evacuated by ambulances STORYLINE: Three patients were evacuated from a cruise ship off Cape Verde on Wednesday amid a hantavirus outbreak, as a new case was confirmed in Switzerland. The cruise ship at the centre of the deadly outbreak, which is stuck off the coast of Cape Verde with nearly 150 people on board, is waiting to head to Spain’s Canary Islands. Meanwhile, health authorities in South Africa and Switzerland identified a strain of the virus that can be transmitted between humans in rare cases. Three passengers have died and several others have been sickened by hantavirus on board the Dutch-flagged MV Hondius cruise ship. Hantavirus usually spreads by inhaling contaminated rodent droppings. The ship left Argentina on April 1 on an Atlantic cruise and was scheduled to include stops in Antarctica, the Falkland Islands and other locations. However, the itinerary appears to have changed because of the situation on board. The head of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said three patients with suspected hantavirus cases have been evacuated from the ship and are on their way to the Netherlands. He said the U.N. health agency is working with the operators of the cruise ship to closely monitor the health of passengers and crew. “At this stage, the overall public health risk remains low,” he wrote on his X account. Among the patients is the ship's doctor, Spain’s health ministry has said. The ministry said on Wednesday that the doctor, who was initially scheduled to be flown to the Canary Islands, is now being evacuated directly home to the Netherlands “after his health had improved." Authorities in Switzerland also announced Wednesday that a man who returned from a trip to South America and travelled on the cruise ship has tested positive for the virus and is receiving treatment. Spain’s health ministry said in a statement late Tuesday that it would receive the MV Hondius vessel in the Canary Islands after a request from the World Health Organization and the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control. Despite some opposition from leaders in the region, the government insisted that it would ultimately make the call. For now the luxury cruise ship remains marooned off the coast of Cape Verde, an island nation off West Africa in the Atlantic. The World Health Organization said passengers are isolating in their cabins. South African health authorities said they identified the Andes strain of hantavirus in two passengers who were on the ship, and Swiss authorities said they identified the same virus in their affected patient. The World Health Organization says the Andes virus, a specific species of hantavirus, is found in South America, primarily in Argentina and Chile. The Andes virus can be spread between people, though this is rare and the spread of the disease is typically contained because it would spread only through close contact, such as by sharing a bed or sharing food, experts say. The South African Department of Health said its results came from tests performed on the passengers after they were removed from the ship and flown to South Africa. One of the passengers, a British man, is in intensive care in a South African hospital. Tests were performed on the other passenger posthumously after she died in South Africa. =========================================================== Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/ You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/0e3debcb21ac4a1ebe797265ec12b10b