Three die on Atlantic cruise ship from suspected hantavirus

Three people have died on a cruise ship in the Atlantic, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on May 3, one a confirmed case of hantavirus – an illness usually transmitted to humans from rodents.



The outbreak occurred on the MV Hondius, travelling from Ushuaia in Argentina to Cape Verde.



"To date, one case of hantavirus infection has been laboratory confirmed, and there are five additional suspected cases," the WHO told AFP.



"Of the six affected individuals, three have died and one is currently in intensive care in South Africa.”



Earlier on May 3, South Africa's Health Ministry told AFP there had been an outbreak of a "severe acute respiratory illness", which had killed at least two people, with a third in intensive care in Johannesburg.



The patient being treated in Johannesburg tested positive for a hantavirus, a family of viruses that can cause haemorrhagic fever, South African spokesman Foster Mohale said.



The disease made headlines in 2025 after Ms Betsy Arakawa, the wife of American actor Gene Hackman, died from the effects of the virus.