Captain of MV Hondius leaves cruise ship after hantavirus outbreak

Captain Jan Dobrogski was allowed to leave the MV Hondius cruise ship on Saturday, after the World Health Organization said he shows no symptoms of hantavirus. The ship, which departed Ushuaia, Argentina on 1 April, completed its itinerary on 18 May in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, after stopping at the Canary Islands where more than 120 passengers were disembarked.

The WHO confirmed that the outbreak, first identified on 2 May, involved 12 suspected or confirmed hantavirus cases, three of which were fatal. A crew member who had been taken ashore in Tenerife and later returned to the Netherlands was confirmed as a new case and is being treated as a precaution. WHO officials said monitoring continues for over 600 contacts in 30 countries, with a small number of high‑risk contacts still being traced. "I am deeply grateful to Jan for his cooperation and leadership," WHO Director‑General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.

The incident highlights the challenges of managing infectious disease risks on international cruise vessels and the ongoing surveillance efforts by health authorities.