Two hantavirus cases have been confirmed and five others are suspected among people on a cruise ship stuck off Cape Verde, including three who have d!ed, the WHO said Tuesday
The World Health Organization said it was trying to contact passengers on an April 25 flight between Saint Helena and Johannesburg, taken by one of the sickened cruise ship passengers, who d!ed the next day.
“As of 4 May 2026, seven cases (two laboratory confirmed cases of hantavirus and five suspected cases) have been identified, including three de.aths, one critically ill patient and three individuals reporting mild symptoms,” the United Nations health agency said in a statement.
During the cruise, which was travelling from Ushuaia in Argentina to Cape Verde off west Africa, “illness onset occurred between 6 and 28 April 2026,” WHO said.
It was “characterised by fever, gastrointestinal symptoms, rapid progression to pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome and shock,” it said, adding that “further investigations are ongoing”.
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