Dutch Birdwatcher Identified As ‘Patient Zero’ In Deadly Hantavirus Outbreak On Cruise Ship

Last Updated:May 10, 2026, 13:03 IST

The virus is carried by long-tailed pygmy rice rats. Unlike most hantaviruses, the Andes strain can spread through close and prolonged human contact.

Dutch ornithologist Leo Schilperoord has been identified as the “patient zero" in a deadly hantavirus outbreak linked to the expedition cruise ship MV Hondius, according to a report by the New York Post.

The 70-year-old birdwatching enthusiast is believed to have contracted the rare Andes strain of the virus during a visit to a landfill near Ushuaia in southern Argentina. The Andes strain is the only known hantavirus capable of human-to-human transmission. Schilperoord later became the first person to die from the virus aboard the ship.

Schilperoord and his wife, Mirjam Schilperoord, 69, were residents of the Dutch village of Haulerwijk and had spent several months travelling across South America. Their journey included visits to Chile and Uruguay before they returned to Argentina in late March 2026.

The couple was well known in Dutch birdwatching circles and had co-authored a study on pink-footed geese for the ornithological magazine Het Vogeljaar in 1984. Over the years, they undertook birdwatching expeditions across different countries, including a 12-day wildlife tour in Sri Lanka in 2013, during which they documented sightings of the rare Serendib Scops Owl.

Reports said the couple visited the municipal landfill near Ushuaia on March 27. Although avoided by many locals because of the waste accumulated there, the site is frequented by birdwatchers hoping to spot the white-throated caracara, also known as Darwin’s caracara.

“It is common for birdwatchers to visit landfills because there are many birds there," photographer and local guide Gaston Bretti told Ansa Latina. “It’s a mountain of waste that today far exceeds the limit initially established by the authorities."

Health authorities suspect the couple was exposed to the Andes strain of hantavirus at the landfill through contact with aerosolised particles from rodent droppings and urine.

The virus is carried by long-tailed pygmy rice rats. Unlike most hantaviruses, the Andes strain can spread through close and prolonged human contact.

The couple boarded the MV Hondius in Ushuaia on April 1. Within days, Leo Schilperoord developed symptoms including fever, headaches, stomach pain and diarrhoea.

His condition worsened rapidly, and he died aboard the ship on April 11. The Dutch-operated vessel was carrying 112 passengers, many of them scientists and birdwatching enthusiasts.

On April 24, during a scheduled stop at Saint Helena in the South Atlantic, Mirjam Schilperoord disembarked with her husband’s body and travelled to Johannesburg, South Africa, intending to catch a KLM flight to the Netherlands.

However, airline staff reportedly found her too ill to travel. She collapsed at Johannesburg airport and died the next day, reportedly due to the virus.Back in Haulerwijk, the April edition of the village magazine carried a tribute to the couple that read: “Like birds in flight. We will miss you and the stories".

News world Dutch Birdwatcher Identified As ‘Patient Zero’ In Deadly Hantavirus Outbreak On Cruise Ship

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