Worldwide race to trace passengers from hantavirus-hit cruise ship
WHO says laboratory tests confirmed the Andes strain, and health officials are tracing cases across multiple countries as passengers are monitored and repatriated.
- The World Health Organization confirmed eight hantavirus cases linked to the MV Hondius cruise ship on Saturday, May 9, 2026, including three deaths. Laboratory testing identified the Andes strain as the vessel approached Tenerife, Canary Islands.
- Investigators believe the outbreak originated during a bird-watching excursion in Ushuaia, Argentina, before the ship's April 1 departure. Unlike typical rodent-borne hantavirus, the Andes strain can spread between humans, necessitating enhanced isolation protocols.
- Three passengers—a Dutch couple and a German national—died since the vessel departed Argentina. Health officials evacuated several other patients to the Netherlands and South Africa for intensive care while monitoring remaining passengers.
- Health authorities across 13 nations launched contact tracing to locate passengers who disembarked at St. Helena on April 24. The World Health Organization assesses global public health risk as low, though officials continue monitoring dispersed travelers.
- The MV Hondius will dock in Tenerife on Sunday for medical assessments and passenger repatriation. Given the virus's incubation period of up to eight weeks, international agencies remain vigilant for potential additional cases among returning travelers.
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319 Articles
Irish News
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So far, 11 hantavirus cases have been reported among people on the cruise, including three deaths.
Gwinnett Daily Post
A timeline of the hantavirus outbreak on cruise ship
An outbreak of the rare hantavirus unfolded over weeks on a cruise ship crossing the Atlantic Ocean. At least three passengers have died, and several others are sick. Health authorities are tracing passengers who left the ship and those who…
The outbreak of the epidemic aboard the MV "Hondius," a cruise ship facing a suspected hantavirus infection, highlights both the difficulty and the importance of managing health crises at sea. A historical perspective shows that current developments are reproducing old patterns. Source link: https://www.nouvelobs.com/monde/20260511.OBS114839/de-la-peste-arrivant-marseille-au-hantavirus-sur-le-hondius-la-longue-histoire-des-crises-sanitaires-en-m…
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