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Third person who died aboard hantavirus outbreak cruise ship was German, shipowner says

By Reuters Reuters
An archive image of the cruise ship Hondius, in Vlissingen, Netherlands May 17, 2025. The MV Hondius, a Netherlands-based cruise ship, was hit by a suspected outbreak of hantavirus, authorities and media reports said on May 3, 2026. IMAGE OBTAINED BY REUTERS/Handout via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES. TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY VERIFICATION: - Reuters confirmed the location from the shipyard, signage and fuel depot which matched file and satellite images. - Coordinates of the shipyard: 51.461283930722175, 3.6998162498897433. - The date when the pictures were taken was verified by original file metadata.
An archive image of the cruise ship Hondius, in Vlissingen, Netherlands May 17, 2025. The MV Hondius, a Netherlands-based cruise ship, was hit by a suspected outbreak of hantavirus, authorities and media reports said on May 3, 2026. IMAGE OBTAINED BY REUTERS/Handout via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES. TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY VERIFICATION: - Reuters confirmed the location from the shipyard, signage and fuel depot which matched file and satellite images. - Coordinates of the shipyard: 51.461283930722175, 3.6998162498897433. - The date when the pictures were taken was verified by original file metadata. IMAGE OBTAINED BY REUTERS Reuters

AMSTERDAM - The third person who died on a cruise ship dealing with a suspected hantavirus outbreak was a German national, a spokesperson for shipowner Oceanwide Expeditions said in a statement on Monday.

The statement also said that hantavirus had so far only been confirmed in the case of a British man being treated in South Africa and that the ship, currently anchored in front of Cape Verde, was considering sailing to Las Palmas or Tenerife for disembarkation.

(Reporting by Charlotte Van Campenhout; Editing by Alex Richardson)

Copyright Reuters or USA Today Network via Reuters Connect.

This story was originally published May 4, 2026 at 6:11 AM.

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