Three people have died following a suspected hantavirus outbreak aboard the MV Hondius cruise ship en route from Argentina to Cape Verde, including a 70-year-old Dutch passenger who fell ill during the voyage and died upon arrival at the island of St Helena, and his 69-year-old wife, who also became ill and later died in a Johannesburg hospital, according to South African health officials.
Cape Verdean authorities have not permitted passengers to disembark for medical treatment, though local health officials have boarded the vessel to assess two symptomatic crew members “requiring urgent medical care,” according to a statement from Oceanwide Expeditions.
Hantavirus can cause a severe and often deadly respiratory illness known as hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, which claimed the life of Betsy Arakawa, the wife of the late actor Gene Hackman, in 2025.
But what exactly is hantavirus, how is it transmitted, and why is it often deadly? Click through this gallery for an explanation.