South Africa on Wednesday detected the human-to-human transmissible Andes strain in two hantavirus cases involving passengers who disembarked from the MV Hondius cruise ship, which has been linked to an outbreak of the disease.

According to Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi, who was presenting to parliament, the cases are linked to a cluster of severe acute respiratory illness reported on the cruise ship carrying 147 tourists.

So far, two deaths and one critical case have been reported on board.

Motsoaledi told parliament that there are more than 38 known strains of hantavirus, a zoonotic disease transmitted from wild animals to humans, mainly through contact with rodent excreta.

Separately, the World Health Organization has said that hantavirus victims on the cruise ship may have been infected prior to joining the voyage, and that human-to-human transmission on board cannot be ruled out.

The UN health agency, however, said human-to-human transmission of hantavirus is uncommon, though limited spread has been reported among close contacts in previous outbreaks of the Andes virus, which belongs to the hantavirus group.

A British tourist who was medically evacuated to a private hospital in Sandton remains in critical condition after testing positive for the virus.

Motsoaledi urged the public not to panic, stressing that health authorities are closely monitoring the situation and that no widespread community transmission has been detected so far.

“We are tracking people who could have been in contact with the patient or the deceased to assess the extent to which other members of the public may have been affected,” Motsoaledi said.

“But up to now, that information is not available. The work is still ongoing,” he added.

A second suspected case involved a traveler who collapsed at OR Tambo International Airport while in transit to the Netherlands and later died at a medical facility in Kempton Park.

Cruise ship cluster prompts international alert

The cases are linked to a cluster of infections aboard the international cruise ship MV Hondius, which departed Ushuaia, Argentina, on March 20, 2026, en route to the Canary Islands via Cabo Verde.

The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) is actively monitoring the situation. Authorities from Cabo Verde, the Netherlands, Spain, South Africa, and the United Kingdom have launched a coordinated response involving case investigation, isolation, clinical management, medical evacuation, and laboratory testing.

Laboratory confirmation was carried out at South Africa’s National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD). Additional samples from symptomatic passengers are being sent, with WHO support, to the Institut Pasteur de Dakar in Senegal for further analysis, including serology, sequencing, and metagenomics.

Understanding hantavirus

Hantavirus is a rare but potentially serious viral disease primarily transmitted to humans through contact with infected rodent excreta, saliva, or urine.

It is not typically associated with sustained human-to-human transmission, although the clustering of cases in a confined cruise ship environment has prompted heightened vigilance.

Symptoms can include fever, fatigue, muscle aches, and respiratory difficulty. Travelers are encouraged to practice good hygiene, avoid contact with rodents or potentially contaminated environments, and seek immediate medical attention if symptoms develop after travel.

(Edited by Halligan Agade with input from the wires)