WHO Revises Hantavirus Cases Lower After US Passenger Tests Negative ...
WHO said a U.S. test was later confirmed negative, lowering the global total to 10 as 41 contacts remain monitored.
- On Friday, Maria Van Kerkhove, director of the World Health Organization's department of epidemic and pandemic preparedness and prevention, announced the United States confirmed an individual with an inconclusive test was negative for hantavirus, lowering global confirmed cases to 10 from 11.
- Three deaths aboard the MV Hondius, a Dutch luxury cruise ship that departed Argentina on April 1, prompted the initial outbreak investigation; the ship carried a Dutch couple and German national among victims.
- Hantaviruses spread through contact with infected rodents' urine, droppings or saliva, with incubation lasting one to six weeks. The Andes strain has circulated in Argentina and Chile for decades with no meaningful variation shown in ship samples.
- With no approved vaccines or targeted antiviral treatments available, the WHO recommends 42-day quarantine for high-risk contacts while low-risk individuals self-monitor. Across Nebraska and Atlanta, 41 people remain under observation despite zero confirmed U.S. cases.
- Van Kerkhove stated WHO experts "haven't identified any changes... in the virus to make it more transmissible, more severe." The organization stressed the outbreak poses no pandemic threat unlike COVID-19, supported by genetic stability across samples.
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WHO confirms 10 global hantavirus cases, Hondius crew remain symptom
World Health Organization has reiterated that the risk of hantavirus spreading is ‘low’. Published On 15 May 202615 May 2026There are currently 10 global cases of hantavirus, the World Health Organization (WHO) has said, lowering its earlier figure of 11 after a person who was thought to have contracted hantavirus was confirmed to be negative.Maria Van Kerkhove, the director of the WHO’s department for epidemic and pandemic preparedness and prev…
Hantavirus Case Count Revised: U.S. Individual Negative
The WHO confirmed a U.S. individual previously thought to have hantavirus tested negative after an inconclusive result. This revision reduced the global case count from 11 to 10, highlighting the importance of accurate testing in tracking infectious diseases.
Channel News Asia
WHO revises hantavirus cases lower after US passenger tests negative
A World Health Organization official said on Friday (May 15) the US confirmed that an individual who had an inconclusive test was later confirmed to be negative for hantavirus, bringing down the total global cases to 10 from 11.Maria Van Kerkhove, director of the UN agency's department of epidemic and pandemi
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