Dutch ornithologist and passionate birdwatcher Leo Schilperoord has been identified as the suspected “patient zero” in a deadly hantavirus outbreak linked to the expedition cruise ship MV Hondius.
Leo developed severe symptoms of the virus, including fever, headache, and abdominal pain, on April 6. He died aboard the ship on April 11, 2026. His wife, Mirjam Schilperoord, 69, was also too ill to board her connecting flight to the Netherlands. She later died on April 25 in a Johannesburg hospital.
How did Leo Schilperoord and His Wife Get Infected?
According to reports, the 70-year-old and his wife contracted the rare Andes strain of hantavirus during a visit to a landfill near Ushuaia in southern Argentina on March 27. The couple went there to search for rare birds, including Darwin’s caracara.
The Andes strain is considered the only form of hantavirus capable of spreading between humans. The birdwatcher later became the first passenger on the ship to die from the infection.
Leo and Mirjam Schilperoord’s fatal exposure reportedly occurred at the end of a five-month birdwatching expedition across South America.
Couple Known in Birdwatching Community
Schilperoord and his wife were residents of Haulerwijk, a village in the Netherlands. They had spent months travelling through South America, visiting Chile and Uruguay before returning to Argentina in March 2026.
They were well-known figures in Dutch birdwatching circles. In 1984, the pair co-authored a study on pink-footed geese for Het Vogeljaar, a Dutch ornithology magazine.
Their passion for birdwatching took them to several countries over the years. In 2013, they joined a 12-day private wildlife and birdwatching tour in Sri Lanka and later wrote about seeing the rare Serendib scops owl.
According to reports, the couple visited the municipal landfill near Ushuaia on March 27. Local residents avoid the site due to the large volume of waste, but birdwatchers often travel there to spot the white-throated caracara, also known as Darwin’s caracara. The bird was named after Charles Darwin, who first collected a specimen in the area.
“It is common for birdwatchers to visit landfills because there are many birds there,” Gaston Bretti, a photographer and local guide, told Ansa Latina. “It’s a mountain of waste that today far exceeds the limit initially established by the authorities.”
Health officials believe the landfill may have exposed the couple to the Andes strain of hantavirus, which is carried by long-tailed pygmy rice rats. The virus is usually transmitted through airborne particles from infected rodent urine or droppings.
Unlike most other hantavirus strains, the Andes variant can spread through close and prolonged human contact.
Symptoms Developed Days After Boarding
The couple boarded the MV Hondius in Ushuaia on April 1. Less than a week later, Schilperoord reportedly developed symptoms including fever, headache, stomach pain, and diarrhoea. His condition rapidly worsened, and he died aboard the vessel on April 11.
The expedition ship, operated by a Dutch company, was carrying 112 passengers, including scientists and birdwatching enthusiasts.
On April 24, during a stop at Saint Helena, Mirjam left the ship carrying her husband’s body. She later travelled to Johannesburg to catch a KLM flight to the Netherlands. However, airline staff reportedly deemed her too unwell to fly. She collapsed at the airport and died the following day, reportedly due to the virus.
Back in Haulerwijk, the couple was remembered in the village magazine’s April edition with the tribute: “Like birds in flight. We will miss you and the stories.”
