The World Health Organization is investigating a possible hantavirus outbreak on the cruise ship MV Hondius in the Atlantic Ocean, the agency said.
Of six people affected, three have died and one is in intensive care in South Africa, according to the latest WHO data. Laboratory tests have confirmed infection in one person, while five others have symptoms of the disease. The WHO said there was no cause for panic and the risk to the general public remained low.
Russian consumer health watchdog Rospotrebnadzor separately said it was monitoring reports of the situation.
International media reported that the Dutch-flagged vessel is owned by Oceanwide Expeditions, which said it was managing a serious medical situation on board. The ship left Ushuaia in Argentina about seven weeks ago, made stops in Antarctica, and anchored on May 3 in Praia, the capital of Cape Verde.
The vessel can carry 170 passengers and 71 crew members, including one doctor. Authorities in the Argentine province of Tierra del Fuego, from which the ship departed, said no hantavirus cases had ever been recorded there. However, the WHO said the virus is endemic in other regions of Argentina and Chile.
The WHO is acting urgently to support outbreak response measures and is working with countries to provide medical care, evacuations, investigations and public health risk assessments. The agency is facilitating the medical evacuation of two passengers with symptoms. Under the International Health Regulations, the WHO has informed national focal points, and a public statement on the outbreak will be issued.
Rospotrebnadzor said Russia has test systems for hantavirus available, but no vaccine against the virus. Sanitary and quarantine controls have been strengthened at all border checkpoints. The agency has sent a request to the competent authority in the Netherlands for laboratory test results.
Hantavirus is a genus of viruses that cause severe infectious diseases in humans, including hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome and hantavirus pulmonary syndrome. Infection is typically linked to contact with the urine or faeces of infected rodents. Although rare, hantavirus can be transmitted from person to person, the WHO added.
Hans Kluge, WHO regional director for Europe, said hantavirus infections are rare and usually associated with contact with infected rodents, noting that they are not easily transmitted between people.
The hantavirus outbreak investigation comes amid unresolved international negotiations. WHO member states have extended discussions on pathogen-sharing rules that were due to come into force alongside a pandemic treaty adopted in 2025. Without approval of these rules, the treaty cannot enter into force.
