The Hantavirus outbreak on a Dutch cruise ship has now pushed the WHO to issue evacuation orders.
The United Nations health agency said Tuesday, May 5, that it issued evacuation orders for two passengers aboard the MD Hondius ship, fear of human-to-human transmission cannot be ruled out.
To facilitate the evacuation of two people, the WHO doctors would board the vessel.
In a recent update, Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO Director of Epidemic and Pandemic Preparedness and Prevention, the media on the hantavirus outbreak.
She said: “We know that some of the cases had very close contact with each other and certainly human-to-human transmission cannot be ruled out, so as a precaution that is what we assume.”
The Hantavirus has so far claimed three lives, and several others have fallen ill.
Among the dead are a Dutch couple and a German national, while a British national is said to be still in intensive care in South Africa.
There are 150 people, including 17 US citizens, who are stuck on the MV Hondius sailing off the coast of West Africa.
The outbreak was first reported on the Dutch cruise ship MV Hondius, which was sailing between Argentina and Cape Verde on Sunday 3 May 2026.
Earlier on Tuesday, May 4, a WHO official had said: “There was no need to panic and the risk to the public was low.”
