Worldwide race to trace passengers from hantavirus-hit cruise ship
WHO says three people have died and eight cases were identified as health agencies trace possible rodent and limited human spread.
- 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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Everyone on board the cruise ship "Hondius", where several people have died from hantavirus, should be monitored for the next 42 days.
All persons on board the cruise ship MV Hondius, on board which a hantavirus outbreak occurred, are considered "high-risk contacts, which must be monitored for 42 days, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced on Saturday.
Montana Standard
CRUISE SHIP SEES DEADLY HANTAVIRUS OUTBREAK
Health personnel assist patients onto a boat from the cruise ship MV Hondius on Wednesday off of Praia, Cape Verde. three of the ship's passengers died of a rare and deadly hantavirus; five others tested positive for it and three…
Germany and other states are preparing to fly their own citizens from the Hantavirus ship. Passengers are only allowed to carry the most necessary luggage.
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