The World Health Organization (WHO) announced today that two confirmed cases of hantavirus and five suspected ones have been recorded on a luxury Dutch cruise ship currently in the Atlantic Ocean, off Cape Verde.

Around 150 passengers are on board the Hondius—mainly British, American, and Spanish—having begun the voyage in Argentina in March, and the ship is now off the west coast of Africa.

Among the seven cases—both suspected and confirmed—three people have died, one is hospitalized in serious condition, and three are experiencing mild symptoms, the WHO explained.

The three deceased are a Dutch couple and a German citizen, while a British passenger has been evacuated from the ship and is receiving treatment in South Africa, officials noted.

Low risk to the general public

“The atmosphere on board the m/v Hondius remains calm, with passengers generally composed,” said the ship’s operator, Oceanwide Expeditions, in a statement late Monday. The company added that it is working on screening and disembarking passengers and is considering sailing toward Las Palmas or Tenerife in Spain.

The WHO reiterated that the risk to the general public is low, as the disease is usually transmitted through infected rodents and only rarely spreads between humans.

Cape Verde—an island nation off the west coast of Africa—has requested that the vessel remain offshore as a precaution.

The first passenger to fall ill, a 70-year-old Dutch man, died on April 11. His body remained on board until April 24, when it was disembarked on Saint Helena, accompanied by his wife for repatriation, according to Oceanwide Expeditions.

Three days later, his 69-year-old wife also fell ill and subsequently died, while a British passenger became seriously ill and was transferred to a hospital in South Africa, the company added.

Meanwhile, the WHO is tracing passengers from the flight on which the 69-year-old Dutch woman traveled from Saint Helena to Johannesburg, where she later died in hospital.

Her hantavirus infection was confirmed yesterday. South African authorities have also confirmed that the 69-year-old British man hospitalized in Johannesburg has tested positive for a strain of hantavirus.