health
May 7, 2026
Hantavirus alert grows: five confirmed cases and four under investigation
Days after the first case of hantavirus linked to the cruise ship 'MV Hondius' was reported to the World Health Organization (WHO), there are now five confirmed infections and four suspected cases, in addition to two individuals who traveled on the ship isolated in Singapore with no or very mild symptoms.
TL;DR
- Five confirmed cases and four suspected cases of hantavirus linked to the cruise ship 'MV Hondius'.
- The virus has been confirmed in a Dutch woman who traveled from St. Helena to South Africa, as well as evacuated passengers and a British national in South Africa.
- Suspected cases include the first fatality on April 11, a German passenger who died on May 2, and a flight attendant hospitalized in Amsterdam.
- The WHO is tracing individuals who traveled on the same plane as a deceased patient and those who disembarked the cruise ship at Santa Elena.
- The potential origin of the outbreak may be linked to an ornithological trip by a deceased Dutch couple in Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay.
- Experts from the WHO stated that hantavirus is not similar to coronavirus and there is no reason to anticipate a new large epidemic.
- The current outbreak belongs to the Andes variant, which has recorded human-to-human transmission, though not with high transmission capacity.
- The cruise ship 'MV Hondius' departed from Ushuaia, Argentina, with 147 people on board.