A New Zealand passenger who was on board the cruise ship hit by a deadly hantavirus outbreak has left the stricken vessel, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).
The Ministry of Health said it is working with WHO to monitor the situation, with “robust public health measures at the border” if required.
In a briefing to media, WHO director-general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said it has informed 12 countries whose nationals disembarked MV Hondius, the Dutch cruise ship at the centre of the outbreak sailing in the Atlantic Ocean, which included a passenger from New Zealand.
“WHO has also informed 12 countries whose nationals disembarked in Saint Helena,” Ghebreyesus said.
“Those 12 countries are Canada, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkiye, the United Kingdom and the United States of America.”
The ship’s operator Oceanwide Expeditions said 120 guests were on board upon arrival in the island of Saint Helena.
“WHO has also informed 12 countries whose nationals disembarked in Saint Helena.
— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) May 7, 2026
Those 12 countries are Canada, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye, the United Kingdom and the United States of America.”…
Of those, 30 people disembarked on April 24, including the individual who died on board on April 11.
It is unclear if the New Zealander has returned home.
WHO said eight cases have been reported so far, including three deaths. Five of the eight cases have been confirmed as hantavirus.
Ministry of Health director of public health Dr Corina Grey told NZME: “The Ministry of Health is aware of Hantavirus cases reported on the MV Hondius and is working with the World Health Organisation and other countries to monitor the situation.
“We have robust public health measures at the border to be able to respond to anyone who may have been exposed to hantavirus if required. However, at this stage, we have received no information to indicate there is a need for a New Zealand-based public health response to hantavirus at this time.”
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) said it “understands a New Zealander disembarked in Saint Helena”.
“They have not asked for consular assistance.”
Another New Zealander is still on board MV Hondius, according to an update from Oceanwide Expeditions earlier this week.
“None of the remaining passengers or crew on the ship are currently symptomatic,” Ghebreyesus said.
MFAT told the Herald yesterday the New Zealander on board has not sought consular assistance.
“Consular officials in Wellington and in our embassies in the Hague and Madrid continue to engage with our consular partners and local authorities about the situation of the passengers on the MV Hondius.
“To date, the New Zealander on board has not sought consular assistance. No further information will be shared for privacy reasons.”
It comes after a passenger told Spanish newspaper El Pais that the people who disembarked in Saint Helena were only contacted about the outbreak this week.
The first confirmed case of hantavirus was not reported until May 4.
UK-based correspondent Stuart Smith told RNZ’s Morning Report that the number of people reported to have disembarked the ship in St Helena last month “is getting bigger and bigger” now the WHO has confirmed further details.
“We know that initially it was reported as 23 passengers, now some sources say at least 30 – and a Dutch says potentially 40 – passengers left the ship in April as part of a planned stop,” Smith said.
“Then of course, [they] went back to either their homes or continued travelling.”
Smith said passengers on MV Hondius were from around the world, “and therefore may have brought the virus back home with them”, with one such case has already been confirmed with a Swiss national hospitalised upon return to Switzerland.
While it’s understood no other passengers have reported exhibiting symptoms, and national governments are characterising the risk to the general population as low, Smith said countries that have had citizens onboard still should err on the side of caution.
“This is a virus that could spend up to six to eight weeks even before it presents any symptoms ... it could be a while before we know whether or not any of these people did bring back the hantavirus to their home countries,” he said.
“[WHO] are contact tracing in order to try make sure they know at least where these people are, and those that have been contacted by their national health authorities are usually being advised to self-isolate.”
University of Otago professor of public health Michael Baker said the risk of hantavirus coming to New Zealand is “minimal”, despite revelations that two Kiwis have now been on the ship.
“I think it’s very unlikely,” Baker told NZME.
“Firstly, you have to look at the chance that those New Zealanders who were on this cruise ship actually had contact with a case and were infected, and that’s a low risk event.
“The other question is what their plans are at the moment. I think at least one of them is still on board, one I think may have got off at Saint Helena.
“They’re all being managed and there’s contact tracing happening. So it’s quite likely they’re going to be self isolating somewhere, either connected with the ship or somewhere in Europe or wherever that traveller is who disembarked at Saint Helena.
“So unless one of them has by chance arrived back in New Zealand, that’s the other barrier that I think will mean that the risk is minimal for New Zealand.”
Baker said there has never been a case of hantavirus in New Zealand.
Hantaviruses are a group of viruses carried by rodents that can cause severe disease in humans.
“People are usually infected through contact with infected rodents or their urine, droppings or saliva,” Ghebreyesus said.
“The species of hantavirus involved in this case is the Andes virus – which is found in Latin America and is the only species known to be capable of limited transmission between humans.
“In previous outbreaks of Andes virus, transmission between people has been associated with close and prolonged contact, particularly among household members, intimate partners and people providing medical care.
“That appears to be the case in the current situation.”
Professor in molecular virology, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Roger Hewson, said different hantaviruses are found in separate parts of the globe.
“In the Americas, some hantaviruses can cause hantavirus pulmonary syndrome [HPS], a rare but potentially very severe illness affecting the lungs,” he said.
“Symptoms can initially be non-specific, including fever, muscle aches, headache and gastrointestinal symptoms, before some patients progress to respiratory illness.”
Baker said HPS is “very dangerous”, with about a third of the 100 people who contract the disease in Argentina annually dying.
The most common way to become infected with a hantavirus is by inhaling dust that contains droppings, urine and saliva of infected rodents.
The human-to-human infection risk is very low, Baker said, although it has been recorded before.