This American doctor thought he was going on vacation. He ended up treating hantavirus patients
Dr. Stephen Kornfeld boarded the MV Hondius off the southern tip of Argentina last month, anticipating a once-in-a-lifetime adventure exploring vast icy expanses and remote islands, seeing wildlife like whales, dolphins and penguins up close.
But a few weeks into his Atlantic Ocean vacation, the Oregon doctor stepped in to care for the passengers when a deadly hantavirus outbreak began to spread on the ship, disturbing the ship’s doctor.
“I fell into the role of being the ship’s doctor,” Kornfeld told CNN while on the virus-exposed ship now headed for Tenerife in the Canary Islands, a Spanish archipelago off the southwestern coast of Morocco.
Healthcare workers wearing protective gear evacuate patients from the cruise ship MV Hondius to an ambulance at a port in Praia, Cape Verde, on Wednesday, May 6, 2026. -Misper Apawu/AP
About 146 passengers and crew still on board, including 17 Americans who spent several days anchored near Praia in Cape Verde on the West African coast, will arrive in Tenerife on Sunday, where they will disembark and head to their home countries.
The epidemic sparked a movement massive global contract tracing effort Health authorities are trying to identify people who may have been exposed to the rare rodent-borne virus, which can cause severe respiratory failure. However, the World Health Organization (WHO) stated that it does not expect a Covid-like epidemic anywhere and underlined that there is no evidence of the risk of widespread transmission.
The World Health Organization stated that five hantavirus infections were detected among people connected to the ship and several more cases were suspected, and that it expected more cases to emerge. Three people died, including an elderly Dutch couple who were thought to have contracted the virus while sightseeing in Argentina before joining the cruise.
Kornfeld told CNN’s Erin Burnett: He said that after hearing that one of Hondius’ passengers had become ill, the ship’s doctor asked if he needed help. The 70-year-old Dutch passenger would die on the boat on April 11.
“It turned out that within 12 to 24 hours a lot of people were getting sick and they were getting sicker and sicker,” he said.
Kornfeld said the dead Dutchman’s wife had “non-specific symptoms” showing “a lot of confusion, a lot of weakness.” He was evacuated from the ship and died in hospital in Johannesburg, South Africa, while trying to return home.
A person wearing a hazmat suit (2R) is escorted to an ambulance from a medical aircraft allegedly carrying some passengers from the MV Hondius cruise ship believed to be infected with hantavirus, at Schiphol airport near Amsterdam on May 6, 2026. -Lina Selg/AFP/Getty Images
The other two patients, including the ship’s doctor, “had many standard viral symptoms,” Kornfeld said. “Lots of fever, fatigue, flushing, some GI issues, some shortness of breath.”
“Neither of them appeared critically ill at the time. But the fear with hantavirus is that you can go from serious illness to critical illness very quickly.”
The World Health Organization said the ship’s doctor was taken to a hospital in Johannesburg last month, where he remained in intensive care but his condition was improving.
The other three passengers on board were evacuated to the Netherlands for treatment. A passenger who left the ship early tested positive for hantavirus and was treated in Zurich.
The outbreak is linked to: Andean hantavirus strainA rare but potentially severe virus that can spread between people through close contact in some cases.
About 30 passengers left the ship late last month, before the outbreak was fully understood, complicating efforts to contain the virus.
Health authorities in several countries, including the US, UK and Canada, are monitoring Hondius passengers for potential infection. Hantavirus usually has an incubation period of one to six weeks before patients begin to show symptoms.
Exterior view of Radboud University Medical Center where a patient evacuated from the MV Hondius receives treatment following a deadly hantavirus outbreak in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, May 7, 2026. – Omar Havana/Reuters
President Donald Trump on Thursday said the hantavirus outbreak “is hopefully largely under control” and indicated that the administration would release more information on Friday. “A lot of great people are working on this. It shouldn’t be a problem.”
But Oregon Rep. Janelle Bynum said the federal government “failed the citizens on that ship.” Video sent to X Thursday.
Bynum said he spoke to his constituent Kornfeld and said none of the Americans on the ship received guidance on returning home safely.
He called on the CDC and Secretary of State Marco Rubio to “come up with a real plan” to get them home.
Kornfeld said he was relieved that the sick passengers were able to get off the ship and receive medical care at the hospital.
“What happens with hantavirus, ultimate survival actually depends on your ability to get to critical care at the right time. That can’t be possible on a boat.”
CNN’s Aleena Fayaz contributed reporting
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