Dutch Female Passenger (Index)

Index case. Dutch female passenger (age 69) aboard MV Hondius. Before boarding in Ushuaia on April 1, she and her husband traveled in Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay (Al Jazeera / WHO, May 7 2026). Argentine authorities' leading hypothesis (per AP, May 7 2026): couple contracted hantavirus during a bird-watching outing in Ushuaia; investigators also tracing their route through Patagonian forested hillsides. Province of Tierra del Fuego — where ship docked — had never previously recorded a hantavirus case. Disembarked at Saint Helena on April 24 with gastrointestinal symptoms. Boarded Airlink flight 4Z 301 (SHN→JNB) on April 25 — condition deteriorated in-flight. Died April 26 at Johannesburg hospital; tested positive for Andes-strain hantavirus. WHO initiated contact tracing for all 82 passengers and 6 crew on that flight. KLM confirmed she also traveled on a KLM flight from Johannesburg. Husband (P002) died on the ship April 11. [Note: P34866 in database is likely a duplicate of this case — same person described as '69-year-old woman who disembarked at St Helena and died in South Africa'.]