At least two Irish people are onboard a luxury cruise ship in the grip of an outbreak of hantavirus.
While medics have confirmed only two cases of the disease, three people travelling on the ship have died and others have fallen ill.
As of 4 May 2026, since 1 April when the ship set sail, there have been seven #hantavirus cases (two confirmed and five suspected), including three deaths.
Based on current information, @WHO assesses the risk to the global population as low and will continue to monitor and… pic.twitter.com/uHVMhxnnoL
— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) May 5, 2026
Hantavirus, which usually spreads through rodents via their faeces, can cause severe respiratory illness among those who catch it. The disease is rarely spread among people.
Currently, the luxurious MV Hondius vessel is located off West Africa but is now returning north to Europe with its 147 crew members and passengers.
On Newstalk Breakfast, travel journalist Simon Caulder said few countries want to take the vessel.
“We have very sadly seen three deaths,” he explained.
“The World Health Organisation has said in the past hour that they are doing all they can to arrange medical evacuations for the crew members, to take them from Cape Verde to the Netherlands for treatment.
“There are a couple of air ambulances being flown out there, along with the partner of the German man who died sadly on board the ship on Saturday.”
#Hantavirus cluster linked to cruise ship travel:
Since 1 April when the boat set sail, of the 147 passengers and crew, 7 people have become ill, among whom 3 have died, 1 is critically ill and 3 are reporting mild symptoms.Based on the current information, including how… pic.twitter.com/KDKwmrNeBt
— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) May 5, 2026
All other passengers will be staying on board the ship until it docks in the Canary Islands.
“Clearly, life on board for those passengers and the crew must be very, very tough at the moment,” he added.
“I don’t know if you’ve seen the pictures of the health authorities coming on board the boat but it took me straight back to COVID.
“You will remember there were entire cruise ships which had hundreds and hundreds of cases of COVID on board.”
The World Health Organisation has said the risk to the public remains low and that there is no need for travel restrictions.
Main image: A cruise ship. Picture by: Alamy.com.
