WHO Chief To Brief Media As Hantavirus Outbreak Linked To Cruise Ship Sparks Global Concern

World Health Organisation Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus is set to hold a press briefing on Thursday as international concern grows over a hantavirus outbreak linked to the cruise ship MV Hondius.

The outbreak has triggered health alerts across several countries, with authorities racing to trace passengers who may have been exposed during the voyage. Particular concern now surrounds around 40 passengers who disembarked from the ship while the outbreak was still unfolding during a stop at Saint Helena.

Dutch officials said the group included the wife of a Dutch passenger who later died from the infection. A Dutch woman and a Swiss man who left the vessel are currently undergoing treatment in South Africa. The developments were disclosed by Dutch foreign minister Tom Berendsen in a letter to parliament.

The outbreak has already been linked to multiple deaths and suspected infections. Investigators believe the virus may involve the Andes hantavirus strain, a rare variant capable of limited human-to-human transmission.

Concerns also grew after Dutch airline KLM confirmed that a passenger who later died had briefly boarded a flight from Johannesburg to Amsterdam on April 25 before being removed because of illness. Dutch authorities are now contacting fellow passengers as a precaution.

Attention has also turned to Argentina, where the Antarctic cruise originated. Health officials are investigating whether the outbreak began there, amid a sharp rise in hantavirus infections reported in the country over the past year.