The World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed that an adult female passenger found to have hantavirus infection, and subsequently died, flew from St Helena to Johannesburg last month.
It appears that the deceased woman is part of a cluster of passengers aboard a cruise ship who have been infected with the disease linked to rodents.
According to an update by WHO on May 4, 2026, the first case linked to the outbreak was an adult male who developed symptoms on April 6, 2026, while onboard the MV Hondius cruise ship.
His condition worsened and he passed away on April 11, 2026. The body of the passenger was removed from the vessel to Saint Helena on April 24, 2026. No microbiological tests were performed.
WHO said the adult female was a close contact of the deceased man. She also left the ship on April 24, 2026, with gastrointestinal symptoms.
The World Health Organization has issued a call for any passengers aboard #4Z132 on April 25 to contact health authorities following the death of a Dutch woman from hantavirus. The woman had left the MV Hondius in St Helena and taken the Airlink flight to Johannesburg. pic.twitter.com/iypeooCAjU
— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) May 6, 2026
On a flight to Johannesburg on April 25, 2026, her condition deteriorated and she later died at an emergency department the following day. She was subsequently confirmed to have the hantavirus infection following tests.
According to Flightradar24, the deceased woman flew on Airlink Flight 4Z132. Contact tracing for passengers on the flight has been initiated.
Airlink confirmed that one of the ship’s passengers left the cruise at Saint Helena with the intention of returning to the Netherlands by air via Johannesburg onboard. In total, there were 82 passengers and six crew onboard the flight.
“At the time Airlink was unaware that any of the passengers were unwell. On Sunday, 03 May 2026, Airlink was notified by South Africa’s public health authorities that the passenger from the ship, who had been on the previous week’s flight, had passed away after she arrived in Johannesburg and that her death was thought to be attributable to the rare Hantavirus,” said Airlink.
KLM also advised that the deceased passenger had briefly been on board one of its aircraft in Johannesburg on April 25, 2026.
“Due to the passenger’s medical condition at the time, the crew decided not to allow the passenger to travel on the flight. After the passenger was removed from the aircraft, the flight departed for the Netherlands,” said KLM.
As a precaution, all passengers who were on board the KLM flight are being informed by GGD Kennemerland.
In both cases the deceased individuals had travelled in South America, including Argentina, before they boarded the cruise ship on April 1, 2026.
On May 6, 2026, WHO announced that Swiss authorities had confirmed another case of hantavirus identified in a passenger from the MV Hondius cruise ship.
“He had responded to an email from the ship’s operator informing the passengers of the health event, and presented himself to a hospital in Zurich, Switzerland, and is receiving care. In line with the International Health Regulations (IHR), WHO is working with relevant countries to support international contact tracing, to ensure that those potentially exposed are monitored and that any further disease spread is limited,” said WHO.
Swiss authorities have confirmed a case of #hantavirus identified in a passenger from the MV Hondius cruise ship.
He had responded to an email from the ship’s operator informing the passengers of the health event, and presented himself to a hospital in Zurich, Switzerland, and… pic.twitter.com/4mmBd7qSA4
— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) May 6, 2026
The organization added: “As of 6 May, there are 8 cases, 3 of whom are confirmed as hantavirus by laboratory testing.”
According to the BBC, three people were also evacuated from the cruise ship in Cape Verde on May 6, 2026. There are around 150 people on board, none of which are showing symptoms
An investigation into the outbreak continues.
WHO previously said that “illness onset occurred between 6 and 28 April 2026 and was characterized by fever, gastrointestinal symptoms, rapid progression to pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome and shock.”
WHO was contacted on May 2, 2026, regarding a cluster of severe acute respiratory illness, including two deaths and one critically ill passenger, aboard a Dutch-flagged cruise ship. As of May 6, 2026, in total three people are believed to have died from the infection.
“Human hantavirus infection is primarily acquired through contact with the urine, feces, or saliva of infected rodents. It is a rare but severe disease that can be deadly,” added WHO.