A patient from the MV Hondius cruise ship, which is battling a hantavirus outbreak, has tested positive for the disease, a hospital in the Netherlands confirmed on Thursday.

"It has been confirmed that the admitted patient has hantavirus. The patient has been informed and has given permission to share this information," said the Leiden University Medical Centre in a statement.

Earlier Thursday, the Radboud hospital in the east of the country, also confirmed that a cruise ship patient it was treating had "tested positive".