A timeline of the hantavirus outbreak on the Antarctic cruise ship MV Hondius shows how the situation unfolded from first illnesses to a multinational containment effort. The outbreak, linked to the Andes virus, has resulted in three deaths and eight confirmed cases.
The outbreak began in early April. A 70-year-old Dutch passenger developed symptoms on April 6 and died on board on April 11. His wife later collapsed at an airport in South Africa and died on April 26. A British man and a German woman also fell ill; the German woman died on May 2.
The World Health Organization declared an outbreak on May 4. Authorities in Cape Verde refused the ship permission to dock for evacuations, leading to a standoff. Three seriously ill individuals were eventually evacuated to Europe on May 6. The ship is now approaching Tenerife, Spain, where passengers will be screened and quarantined. Health authorities across multiple countries are tracing passengers who have already disembarked.