Death Ship: Hantavirus Cruise Nightmare Unfolds as Three Evacuated and Spain REFUSES Entry

A luxury cruise ship carrying a deadly outbreak has fled Cape Verde and is now headed straight toward Europe, and nobody’s happy about it.

The MV Hondius, operated by Oceanwide Expeditions, evacuated three passengers on Wednesday after a hantavirus outbreak spiraled out of control. A 56-year-old British man, a 41-year-old Dutch crew member, and a 65-year-old German national were airlifted for emergency treatment in the Netherlands. Two have already arrived at hospitals, while the third was still in transit as of the report.

But here’s the chilling part: three people have already died since the ship departed Argentina a month ago. One death has been confirmed as hantavirus. The other two are still under investigation.

The ship is now steaming toward the Canary Islands with 146 people from 23 countries locked down under “strict precautionary measures.” The World Health Organization has identified eight suspected cases aboard, including three confirmed hantavirus infections. Testing is ongoing to determine how many more are infected.

Spain’s regional leader Fernando Clavijo is absolutely refusing the arrival. “I cannot allow the boat to enter the Canaries,” he told radio station Onda Cero, blasting Spain’s national government for making the decision without consulting his administration or providing adequate information.

The nightmare scenario: Health authorities confirmed the Andes strain of hantavirus on two patients. This particular strain, prevalent throughout Latin America where the cruise originated, can spread between humans in close contact, unlike most hantavirus varieties. Dr Maria Van Kerkhove from the WHO emphasized the virus requires “really physical contact,” not casual exposure.

One death has already crossed international borders. A Dutch woman disembarked at St Helena on April 24 and died in South Africa on April 26 after briefly boarding a KLM Airlines flight. Contact tracing is now underway across multiple continents.

When the MV Hondius reaches Tenerife in the coming days, all 146 passengers will undergo medical assessments. Foreign nationals will be repatriated to their home countries, while Spanish citizens face quarantine at a defense hospital in Madrid.

Health officials insist the risk to the general public remains low, and infectious disease experts are now aboard the ship traveling with the passengers. But with three dead, multiple confirmed cases, and a regional government in revolt, the political and medical fallout is only beginning.