Hantavirus-hit cruise ship leaves Cape Verde for Canary Islands

A cruise ship linked to a deadly hantavirus outbreak departed Praia, Cape Verde, on Wednesday with nearly 150 passengers and crew on board, continuing its journey toward Spain’s Canary Islands as health authorities raced to contain the spread of the disease.

Two patients infected with hantavirus and a third suspected case were evacuated from the vessel and flown to the Netherlands for treatment, according to the World Health Organization.

The outbreak has left three people dead, with one body still on the ship.

Of eight recorded cases, five have been confirmed through laboratory testing.

Footage showed health workers in protective gear evacuating three passengers, including the ship’s British doctor, who had been in serious condition but later improved.

An air ambulance transported the evacuees and a medical flight later arrived in Amsterdam.

The Dutch foreign ministry said the evacuated passengers include a 41-year-old Dutch national, a 56-year-old British national and a 65-year-old German national, all of whom are being transferred to specialised hospitals in Europe.

Two remain in serious condition, while the third has no symptoms but had close contact with a passenger who died aboard the ship.

Hantavirus typically spreads through contact with rodent droppings, though limited person-to-person transmission can occur. WHO officials say the risk to the public remains low.

Authorities in Europe and Africa are tracing contacts linked to passengers who disembarked earlier in the voyage, which began 1 April in South America and included stops in Antarctica and remote Atlantic islands.

Investigators are examining whether a Dutch couple may have contracted the virus in southern Argentina before boarding, possibly after exposure to rodents at a landfill site.

Passengers and crew still on board remain without symptoms and are isolating in their cabins as the ship sails toward the Canary Islands, where officials say its arrival poses no risk to the public.