South Africa Identifies Hantavirus Strain That Can Spread Between Humans in 2 Cruise Ship Passengers

Three people have died, and three others have been evacuated from the Dutch-flagged MV Hondius.

Cruise ship MV Hondius docks off Cape Verde port, as passengers were not allowed off the ship, while health authorities investigated suspected cases of hantavirus aboard the vessel, in Praia Port, Cape Verde, in this screengrab obtained from a video, on May 4, 2026. Reuters TV

South Africa’s health ministry has said that tests indicated the Andes strain, a rare form of hantavirus that can spread between humans, was found in two passengers aboard the MV Hondius.

Hantavirus is a viral disease most often transmitted through contact with the urine, feces, or saliva of infected rodents, and carries a mortality rate of 30 to 50 percent. The Andes strain can cause human-to-human transmission, though such ​spread is extremely rare and occurs only through “very close contact,” the ministry said on May 5.