Update: Six Countries Record Hantavirus Cases Linked to MV Hondius Outbreak
Mirian Gom 
ABUJA, Nigeria – The World Health Organization says at least six countries have recorded confirmed or probable hantavirus infections linked to the outbreak aboard the Dutch-flagged cruise ship, MV Hondius.
According to a statement on Monday by the WHO and national health authorities, eight confirmed cases and two probable cases have so far been identified, with citizens from six countries affected by the outbreak.
Three deaths have been recorded, including two laboratory-confirmed hantavirus fatalities and one probable case.
The outbreak involves the Andes strain of hantavirus, the only known strain capable of limited human-to-human transmission.
The first fatalities involved a Dutch couple who reportedly travelled across South America before boarding the ship in Ushuaia, Argentina, on April 1.
The 70-year-old husband developed symptoms on April 6 and died on April 11. Although no laboratory test was conducted, the WHO classified him as a probable case.
His wife, aged 69, later became critically ill during a flight from South Africa to the Netherlands and died in a Johannesburg hospital on April 26 after testing positive for hantavirus.
A third Dutch national, the ship’s doctor, also tested positive for the virus and was evacuated to the Netherlands for treatment.
The United Kingdom has recorded two confirmed cases and one probable infection linked to the outbreak.
One British passenger was evacuated from Ascension Island to South Africa after developing pneumonia symptoms, while another British crew member later tested positive for the Andes strain.
A third British national remains classified as a probable case while under isolation on Tristan da Cunha.
German authorities also confirmed that a German woman who died aboard the ship on May 2 tested positive for the virus.
Other confirmed cases have been reported in Switzerland, France and the United States following the repatriation of passengers from the vessel.
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