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Hantavirus 'patient zero' revealed/ Who is the Dutch bird researcher who was infected on an expedition?

2026-05-10 11:05:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Hantavirus 'patient zero' revealed/ Who is the Dutch bird researcher

Dutch bird researcher Leo Schilperoord has been named as the suspected "patient zero" in the deadly hantavirus outbreak aboard the MV Hondius cruise ship.

The outbreak has already claimed at least three lives according to the World Health Organization (WHO), including that of Schilperoord and his wife, Miriam Schilperoord.

The 70-year-old ornithologist reportedly boarded the MV Hondius after visiting Ushuaia, Argentina, with his wife Miriam, 69, during a month-long birdwatching expedition across South America.

Investigators now believe the couple contracted the Andean virus near a landfill site known for being infested with rats before boarding the ship.

The Dutch couple are suspected of inhaling these particles of the Andean variant capable of spreading from person to person. The symptoms began a few days after they boarded the MV Hondius. Four days after visiting the landfill, Leo and Miriam boarded the MV Hondius in Ushuaia along with more than 100 passengers who were also scientists or birdwatchers. Leo reportedly developed symptoms, including fever, diarrhea, headache and stomach pain, by April 6. He died on the ship on April 11.

On April 24, at a scheduled stopover on the Atlantic island of Santa Helena, Miriam, along with Leo's body, disembarked from the ship. She took a plane to Johannesburg, South Africa, and then boarded a KLM flight bound for the Netherlands. But she never made it home. She was removed by the crew when they determined she was too ill to travel. The next day, she died after collapsing at the airport./CNA





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