3 Dead of Suspected Hantavirus Infections on Cruise Ship, W.H.O. Says

Three people who were aboard a cruise ship sailing the Atlantic Ocean have died of suspected infections of hantavirus, the World Health Organization said on Sunday, referring to a rare family of viruses carried by rodents.

One case of the infection was confirmed in a laboratory, the organization said in a statement. There are five additional suspected cases, it said.

Of the six people infected, three have died and one person was in intensive care in South Africa, it said.

Foster Mohale, a spokesman for the National Department of Health in South Africa, said passengers of an international cruise ship, MV Hondius, were in South African medical facilities “following serious health complications arising from undiagnosed severe acute respiratory infection.”

The MV Hondius, which was carrying about 150 passengers from various countries, left Ushuaia in Argentina about three weeks ago for the Canary Islands, stopping in mainland Antarctica, the Falkland Islands, South Georgia, Nightingale Island, Tristan, St. Helena, Ascension and Cape Verde, Mr. Mohale said.


https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/03/well/cruise-ship-virus-fatal-outbreak.html

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I will never go on a cruise.