Countries race to trace Passengers after deadly Virus outbreak on Cruise Ship

Health authorities across several countries have launched urgent efforts to trace passengers who disembarked from the cruise ship MV Hondius before a deadly hantavirus outbreak was detected onboard, raising concerns over possible international exposure to the disease.

At least three people, a Dutch couple and a German national, have died following the outbreak, while eight others are believed to have contracted the virus, according to the World Health Organization.

The ship, carrying nearly 150 people, is currently heading toward Tenerife after being stranded off the coast of Cape Verde. Authorities say it is expected to dock in Spain by Saturday.

The outbreak has triggered an international public health response as officials attempt to locate passengers who left the vessel before the infections were confirmed.

The Netherlands government said around 40 passengers had disembarked in Saint Helena during a stopover before the outbreak became known. However, the locations of many of the passengers remain unclear.

One of the passengers who left the ship was the wife of a Dutch victim who died aboard the vessel on April 11. She later became ill and died before reaching the Netherlands.

Dutch airline KLM reportedly removed the woman from a flight in Johannesburg on April 25 after her condition deteriorated.

Medical experts confirmed that the virus involved is the Andean strain of hantavirus, a rare but dangerous form capable of spreading between humans through extremely close contact.

Although specialists say human-to-human transmission remains uncommon, the outbreak has placed health agencies worldwide on heightened alert.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States said it was closely monitoring the situation involving American travellers onboard the ship, while maintaining that the risk to the general public remained extremely low.

In France, Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot disclosed that a French citizen had been in contact with one of the infected individuals but was not currently showing symptoms.

Meanwhile, authorities in Argentina announced plans to conduct rodent trapping and analysis in the southern city of Ushuaia, where the cruise journey reportedly began.

Spanish authorities have also outlined strict containment measures once the ship arrives in Tenerife. Non-Spanish passengers who remain healthy are expected to be repatriated to their home countries, while 14 Spanish citizens onboard will be quarantined in a military hospital in Madrid.

Three infected patients were evacuated from the vessel on Wednesday for emergency treatment. One has been admitted to a hospital in the Netherlands, while another was transferred to Germany for specialised medical care.

A third patient was also being transported to the Netherlands, though the evacuation flight experienced delays after technical problems affected the patient’s life support system.

The incident has renewed global concerns over disease management aboard international cruise ships, particularly involving rare infectious illnesses capable of crossing borders before detection.