Hantavirus Outbreak on MV Hondius: 2 Indian Crew Members Aboard Infected Cruise Ship; Donald Trump Says Virus Situation Under Control

Two Indian crew members are aboard a luxury Hantavirus-infected cruise ship, MV Hondius, which is stranded in the Atlantic Ocean with 149 people, where three people died, and eight others were infected due to the virus. While US President Donald Trump is hopeful that the lethal virus is under control on a ship operated by a Dutch company, Oceanwide Expeditions.

Oceanwide Expeditions gave the breakdown about the people aboard, including crew and their nationality on May 4, through this its known that two Indians are present among 149 people on board. According to the list accessed by India Today, there are a total of 23 nationalities and most of them are tourists from England, the US, Germany and Spain.

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There is a crew, including support staff, sailors from the Philippines, Ukraine, the Netherlands, Poland and two Indian crew members. However, their health conditions are still unknown, reported India Today.

Donald Trump on Hantavirus Outbreak on MV Hondius

US President Donald Trump, while speaking to reporters on Thursday, stated that he is hopeful that the virus could have been brought under control on board the cruise ship. "It's very much, we hope, under control. It was the ship - and I think we're going to make a full report about it tomorrow. A lot of great people are studying it."

Trump on hantavirus: "It's very much, we hope, under control. It was the ship - and I think we're going to make a full report about it tomorrow. A lot of great people studying it." pic.twitter.com/ii2FS8I0d5

— AZ Intel (@AZ_Intel_) May 8, 2026

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The president’s comments came during an impromptu visit to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington, DC, where he has ordered a renovation project. 

Asked if Americans should be concerned about the virus spreading, Trump said “I hope not,” adding that “we’re doing the best we can.”

 “Last Saturday, the United Kingdom notified the WHO under the International Health Regulations of a cluster of passengers with severe respiratory illness on a Dutch-flagged cruise ship, the MV Hondius, which had travelled from Argentina to Cabo Verde. So far, eight cases have been reported, including three deaths. Five of the eight cases have been confirmed as hantavirus, and the other three are suspected... WHO has also informed 12 countries whose nationals disembarked in Saint Helena.  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: WHO DG Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus," Would Health Organisation (WHO) in a post on X on Thursday.