Health officials in 4 continents tracking down cruise ship's passengers for hantavirus contact

The World Health Organization said that more hantavirus cases could emerge after the disease killed three passengers from a cruise ship, but it expected the outbreak to be limited if precautions were taken.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told journalists in Geneva that five confirmed and three suspected cases had been reported overall, including the three deaths.

"Given the incubation period of the Andes virus, which can be up to six weeks, it's possible that more cases may be reported," he said, referring to the rare strain detected aboard the Hondius, which can be transmitted between humans.

Health authorities across four continents were continuing to track down and monitor passengers who disembarked from the ship before the deadly outbreak was detected, and are trying to trace others who may have come into contact with them since then.

Medical personnel in hazmat suits wait for patients evacuated from the MV Hondius, at Schiphol airport, Amsterdam on May 6, 2026. Associated Press

On April 24, nearly two weeks after the first passenger had died on board, more than two dozen people from at least 12 different countries left the ship without contact tracing, the ship's operator and Dutch officials said on Thursday.

Third British national infected

A third British national has been diagnosed with suspected hantavirus linked to a cruise ship outbreak, health officials said on Friday.

The "additional suspected case of a British national" was on the remote South Atlantic island of Tristan da Cunha, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said.

A scientist from the Malbran Institute handling containers used to diagnose the Andes hantavirus, in Buenos Aires on May 6, 2026. Agence France-Presse

Two other British nationals remain in hospital in the Netherlands and South Africa following the outbreak on the MV Hondius cruise ship.

"None of the British citizens onboard are currently reporting symptoms, but they are being closely monitored," the agency said.

The ship is expected to dock in Tenerife on Sunday, and government officials will be on the ground to help British nationals disembarking.

The Foreign Office is chartering "a dedicated repatriation flight" for British ship passengers and crew only.

"This flight will be free of charge," the agency added.

The British passengers will have to isolate for 45 days once they return to the UK, and will be closely monitored and tested by the agency.

Health workers in protective gear evacuate patients from the MV Hondius cruise ship into an ambulance at a port in Praia, Cape Verde, on Wednesday. Associated Press

Spain is coordinating with governments whose citizens are on board the ship about evacuation plans, Barcones said.

KLM flight attendance tests negative

A flight attendant for the Dutch airline KLM who showed mild symptoms of hantavirus and was admitted to hospital in Amsterdam has tested negative for the virus, the WHO said on Friday.

The flight attendant was tested after she reportedly came into contact with a sickened cruise ship passenger who was taken off a KLM plane and later died of the virus in South Africa.

People fearing or known to have contracted the virus are being treated or isolating in Britain, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland and South Africa.

Very much under control, says Trump

US President Donald Trump said he had been briefed on the situation. "It's very much, we hope, under control," Trump told reporters.

"It was the ship – and I think we're going to make a full report about it tomorrow. We have a lot of great people studying it... It should be fine, we hope." The United States has agreed to send a plane to the Canary Islands to repatriate its 17 citizens from the cruise ship, she said. The British government also said it will charter a plane to evacuate the nearly two dozen British citizens still on the MV Hondius.

Singapore’s National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID) on Friday. Two Singapore residents who had been on board the hantavirus-hit cruise ship have been isolated at the Centre. Agence France-Presse

A Dutch couple who had travelled around South America before boarding the ship in Ushuaia, Argentina on April 1 were the first fatalities.

Argentine health authorities said on Thursday they had not yet been able to establish where the outbreak began.

"With the information provided so far by the countries involved and participating national agencies, it is not possible to confirm the origin of the infection," the health ministry said after a meeting with authorities from all 24 Argentine provinces.

The Leiden University Medical Centre in the Netherlands later announced another patient had tested positive.

But the WHO's emergency alert and response director Abdi Rahman Mahamud said he believed it would be "a limited outbreak" if "public health measures are implemented and solidarity shown across all countries." People thought or known to have contracted the virus are being treated or isolating in Britain, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland and South Africa.

'Calm response'

Hantavirus is a rare respiratory disease that is usually spread from infected rodents and can cause respiratory and cardiac distress as well as haemorrhagic fevers. There are no vaccines and no known cure.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus

YouTuber Kasem Ibn Hattuta, a passenger aboard the Hondius, posted a video recounting how he learned of the first death around 12 days after the start of the trip.

"Most people on board are reacting very calmly to the situation, unlike what is being reported in the media," Hattuta said.

"Today was supposed to be the last day of our 35-day voyage across the Atlantic Ocean. But it is clear that our journey will not end here," he added, referring to Cape Verde's refusal to allow the Hondius to dock.

Agence France-Presse