How did it happen? Leo Schilperoord, a 70-year-old Dutch ornithologist, whose passion for rare birds led to a fatal exposure. Leo was the first patient to die of the virus on board the ship. Later, his wife, Mirjam Schilperoord, got off the ship with his body but died trying to board a plane to the Netherlands from South Africa.The couple from Haulerwijk, a small village of 3,000 people in the Netherlands, were identified in obituaries published in their monthly village magazine.Before boarding the MV Hondius, Leo and Mirjam were on a five month trip in South America.The couple spent months traveling through Chile, Uruguay, and back into Argentina. It was there, during a late March birdwatching excursion in the southern reaches of the continent, that they crossed paths with a deadly pathogen.
From a Dutch village to global expeditionsAs per the leading daily, it was mentioned that the couple hailed from Haulerwijk, a close-knit Dutch village of just 3,000 residents, where local obituaries in the monthly village magazine first confirmed their identities. Leo and Mirjam were far from casual hobbyists; they were deeply respected figures in the ornithology community. As early as 1984, they co-authored a study on pink-footed geese for the Dutch ornithological magazine Het Vogeljaar. Their passion took them to the far corners of the earth. Among their many adventures was an “unforgettable” 12-day private wildlife tour in Sri Lanka in 2013, where they joyfully documented spotting the incredibly rare Serendib Scops Owl. It was a similar pursuit of a rare avian species that would lead them to a highly toxic environment in Argentina.The dangerous ushuaia landfillIn late March, the Schilperoords visited the local municipal landfill in Ushuaia, Argentina. While local residents strictly avoid the trash-strewn site, it has become an unlikely pilgrimage destination for international birdwatchers. They flock there hoping to catch a glimpse of the white-throated caracara—often called Darwin’s caracara, named after Charles Darwin, the famed evolutionary biologist who was the first to collect the species. However, the landfill is also a breeding ground for disease. Argentine health authorities believe this is where the couple inhaled aerosolized particles from the droppings of long-tailed pygmy rice rats. These rodents carry the Andes strain of the Hantavirus, which is uniquely dangerous as it is the only variant of the virus known to spread directly from human to human. Local experts note that visiting such locations is a standard, if risky, practice for serious birders.”Tragedy on the CruiseAfter a few days of the visit to the toxic-laden landfill on April 1, Leo and Mirjam boarded the cruise ship MV Hondius in Ushuaia. They joined 112 other passengers, a group largely comprised of fellow scientists and birding enthusiasts. The virus struck quickly. By April 6, Leo began showing severe symptoms, reporting a high fever, headaches, stomach pain, and diarrhea. His condition deteriorated rapidly, and he passed away on board the ship just five days later, on April 11.A Double Tragedy in TransitThe nightmare did not end with Leo’s death. On April 24, during a scheduled stop at the remote South Atlantic island of Saint Helena, Mirjam disembarked the ship alongside her husband’s body. In a desperate bid to return home, she boarded a flight to Johannesburg, South Africa, intending to catch a connecting KLM flight back to the Netherlands. However, she never made it to Europe. Airport and airline staff deemed her far too ill to board the flight and removed her from the aircraft. Mirjam collapsed inside the Johannesburg airport and passed away the following day. Back in their quiet home village of Haulerwijk, the April issue of the local magazine carried a heartbreaking tribute to the couple: “Like birds in flight. We will miss you and the stories.”Potential ExposureThe fallout from the outbreak is now being monitored internationally. On April 25, at least seven American passengers from the MV Hondius shared Mirjam’s Airlink flight to Johannesburg before flying home to the United States. Among those travelers are two residents of New Jersey, raising concerns about potential exposure among those who shared the closed cabin space with Mirjam during her final hours.
