90-Second Read: How South African scientists identified Hantavirus on a cruise ship thousands of miles away

South African infectious disease expert Lucille Blumberg was part of a team that identified a Hantavirus outbreak on a Dutch cruise ship. Within 24 hours, Blumberg and her team confirmed the illness was Hantavirus, a rare, rodent-borne virus. A U.K.-based colleague had written about a passenger from a cruise ship sailing thousands of miles away in the Atlantic Ocean who had been evacuated and admitted to a Johannesburg hospital with suspected pneumonia.

On May 1, Blumberg received an urgent email about a passenger evacuated to a Johannesburg hospital with suspected pneumonia. The British man who was the first confirmed case is improving. People in protective gear remove waste from the MV Hondius cruise ship after its arrival at the Port of Rotterdam, Netherlands, Monday, May 18, 2026.

Signs at the headquarters of South Africa's National Institute for Communicable Diseases, in Johannesburg, South Africa, Wednesday, May 6, 2026. JOHANNESBURG (AP), When South African infectious disease specialist Lucille Blumberg checked her email on the morning of May 1, while the country was celebrating the Labor Day holiday, an urgent message caught her attention. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content.