Hantavirus Timeline on MV Hondius Shows 23 Days Passed Before Anyone Knew
A man died on a cruise ship in the South Atlantic on April 11, 2026. The world only confirmed hantavirus on May 4. In between, the MV Hondius kept moving across the ocean, and more people kept dying while no one on land had any answers.
Source: Getty Images
The first passenger fell ill on 6 April, just five days after the ship left Ushuaia, Argentina. He died five days after that, still at sea. His body stayed on board for 13 more days before it was removed at St. Helena on 24 April.
The clock kept running
His wife left the ship with him on April 24. She flew to South Africa and died there on 26 April. Her lab results only came back on May 4, nine days after she was already gone.
A second passenger was evacuated on 27 April. His positive result came back on May 2. That exact same day, a third passenger died on board the ship, still sailing.
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The WHO was only notified on May 2, a full month after the voyage began. By that point, the ship had already crossed the South Atlantic, passed through remote islands, and reached Cape Verde with more sick people still on board.
Eight people across three countries had been infected before a single confirmed lab result existed anywhere in the world.
The ship left Argentina on April 1. The answer came on 4 May. That is 33 days of sailing blind.
See the full report by AP News here:
Source: Briefly News
