A rare and deadly outbreak of hantavirus on the MV Hondius cruise ship has prompted global health agencies to launch a massive effort to trace contacts and contain the virus. The main concern, however, is not just the infection of the passengers on the ship, but also the fact that 30 to 40 passengers disembarked on the island of St. Helena before the quarantine was officially declared and returned to 12 countries on three continents, a move that has now triggered a multilateral international tracing operation, although the World Health Organization insists that the virus “is not SARS-CoV-2 and will not start a pandemic.”
Publish dateSaturday 9 May 2026 - 09:04
Story Code : 353980
Afghan Voice Agency (AVA): The MV Hondius cruise ship, owned by the Dutch company Oceanwide Expeditions, which had set sail from Ushuaia in Argentina, with about 150 passengers and crew from 23 nationalities, became the focus of an unprecedented health crisis in the first week of May 2026.
The first victim of the outbreak was a Dutch man who died on board the ship on the 22nd of May. His body was removed from the ship on the island of St. Helena two weeks later, on the 4th of May. His wife, who had also left the ship on the same island, deteriorated severely and died at Johannesburg airport after being transferred to South Africa. KLM has confirmed that the Dutch woman died on the 5th of May before reaching her destination in the Netherlands. The third victim was a German woman who died on the ship itself.
Deadly virus on board; What is hantavirus and why is this outbreak different?
The main concern was raised when specialist tests showed that the likely cause of the outbreak was Andes virus (ANDV), a type of hantavirus found mainly in the Andes mountain range in southern Argentina and Chile. Unlike most hantaviruses, which are transmitted to humans only by rodents, Andes virus can rarely be transmitted from person to person, especially through close, prolonged contact. The fatality rate for the virus is estimated to be between 30 and 40 percent.
The Guardian reports that the virus is associated with the small long-tailed rice rat (Oligoryzomys longicaudatus) and causes hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome (HCPS), an illness that begins with severe flu-like symptoms, including fever, muscle aches, nausea and abdominal pain, and can quickly progress to severe respiratory failure.
The Achilles heel of the crisis; 40 passengers who disembarked
The biggest challenge facing health authorities, however, is the uncontrolled departure of passengers before the outbreak was officially declared. According to the World Health Organization and the operating company, between 29 and about 40 passengers disembarked the ship at the island of St. Helena before quarantine protocols were implemented and returned to their home countries in Europe, North America and South Africa on commercial flights. This has triggered massive contact tracing operations in several countries simultaneously.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director-general of the World Health Organization, announced that the organization has issued official warnings to 12 countries whose nationals disembarked on St. Helena before quarantine. The list of countries is:
- Canada
- Denmark
- Germany
- Netherlands
- New Zealand
- St. Kitts and Nevis
- Singapore
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Turkey
- United Kingdom
- United States
Contact tracing on three continents; From Georgia to Singapore
Following the warning, countries involved have begun their surveillance operations. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has classified the hantavirus outbreak at a level of “3”, the lowest level of emergency activation, but has activated its emergency operations centers to coordinate the containment of the disease.
According to the New York Times, American travelers in the states of Georgia, California, Arizona and Texas are being monitored. The Georgia Department of Health said two asymptomatic people are being monitored, and Arizona officials are monitoring an asymptomatic citizen.
In Canada, two citizens had returned to the country before the outbreak was detected, and a third citizen was on a flight with a symptomatic person. Canadian officials have emphasized that all three are currently asymptomatic. Singapore’s infectious diseases agency announced that two of its residents who were on the ship have been quarantined and tested.
In Switzerland, a hospitalized man has tested positive for hantavirus. Danish health authorities have advised a returning citizen to self-isolate. In France, a citizen who had contact with a sick person, although asymptomatic, is also being monitored.
Trump’s response and global reassurance
In brief remarks on the outbreak, US President Donald Trump said he had received reports of hantavirus and “hopefully it’s completely under control.” Asked whether there was any need for public concern, he said: “I hope not.”
The reassurance was echoed by the World Health Organization’s firm stance. “This is a specific, limited environment. Given the experience of member states, we do not expect a major pandemic,” Abdulrahman Mahmoud, the organization’s director of emergency preparedness and response, told a news conference in Geneva.
Maria Van Kerkhove, the organization’s director of pandemic preparedness and prevention, echoed the message more bluntly: “This is not SARS-CoV-2. This is not the beginning of a pandemic. This is not Covid. Most hantaviruses are transmitted by rodents, and human-to-human transmission is uncommon.”
Strict health surveillance protocol
The World Health Organization has said that infected people should remain in quarantine and those who have been exposed must also be actively monitored for 42 days. Mahmoud said the way this monitoring is implemented may vary from country to country: “Some countries may use institutional quarantine, while others will rely on daily health monitoring by healthcare workers.”
Transfer of patients from the ship and the latest situation
On May 6, three patients were transferred from the ship. Two of them are now hospitalized in the Netherlands, and the third has been transferred to Germany for treatment. Martin Anstey, one of the tour guides who is hospitalized in the Netherlands, said he is “doing well” but “there are still many tests to be done.”
The Düsseldorf University Clinic in Germany also said that the hospitalized person has not yet been confirmed as a confirmed case and is being investigated as a contact of the patient.
A KLM flight attendant who had been in contact with the deceased Dutch woman has been hospitalized in Amsterdam after showing possible symptoms, RTL Holland reported.
Climate Change and Warnings About Hantavirus Spread
At the same time, public health experts in Argentina have warned that climate change is increasing the risk of hantavirus spreading. “Because of climate change, Argentina is becoming more tropical, which has exacerbated disorders such as dengue fever and yellow fever, and has also brought new tropical plants whose seeds are breeding ground for rats,” said Hugo Pizzi, a leading infectious disease expert in the country. “With time, hantavirus will undoubtedly spread more and more.”
Ship Heads to Canary Islands
The MV Hondius, with more than 140 remaining passengers and crew members, who are currently asymptomatic, is now heading to Spain’s Canary Islands. The World Health Organization said it is developing step-by-step instructions for when the passengers will disembark on Saturday or Sunday and return to their countries. The organization stressed that both the overall public health risk and the risk to the Canary Islands remain “low.”
Why is this outbreak so rare?
The outbreak of hantavirus on the MV Hondius is an exceptional event in public health history in several ways:
First, hantavirus is typically found sporadically in rural areas, not on a modern cruise ship.
Second, the Andean strain identified in this outbreak is the only hantavirus strain in the world with limited human-to-human transmission.
Third, the dispersion of dozens of potential exposed passengers across several countries before the disease was officially declared a pandemic has made contact tracing a major logistical challenge.
And fourth, the virus’s long incubation period, which can last several weeks, means that new cases will likely emerge in the days and weeks to come. Investigations into the initial source of contamination are ongoing, and suspicions have been raised that some passengers were exposed to infected rodents during the ship's stop in southern Argentina, possibly while visiting birdwatching sites.
The first victim of the outbreak was a Dutch man who died on board the ship on the 22nd of May. His body was removed from the ship on the island of St. Helena two weeks later, on the 4th of May. His wife, who had also left the ship on the same island, deteriorated severely and died at Johannesburg airport after being transferred to South Africa. KLM has confirmed that the Dutch woman died on the 5th of May before reaching her destination in the Netherlands. The third victim was a German woman who died on the ship itself.
Deadly virus on board; What is hantavirus and why is this outbreak different?
The main concern was raised when specialist tests showed that the likely cause of the outbreak was Andes virus (ANDV), a type of hantavirus found mainly in the Andes mountain range in southern Argentina and Chile. Unlike most hantaviruses, which are transmitted to humans only by rodents, Andes virus can rarely be transmitted from person to person, especially through close, prolonged contact. The fatality rate for the virus is estimated to be between 30 and 40 percent.
The Guardian reports that the virus is associated with the small long-tailed rice rat (Oligoryzomys longicaudatus) and causes hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome (HCPS), an illness that begins with severe flu-like symptoms, including fever, muscle aches, nausea and abdominal pain, and can quickly progress to severe respiratory failure.
The Achilles heel of the crisis; 40 passengers who disembarked
The biggest challenge facing health authorities, however, is the uncontrolled departure of passengers before the outbreak was officially declared. According to the World Health Organization and the operating company, between 29 and about 40 passengers disembarked the ship at the island of St. Helena before quarantine protocols were implemented and returned to their home countries in Europe, North America and South Africa on commercial flights. This has triggered massive contact tracing operations in several countries simultaneously.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director-general of the World Health Organization, announced that the organization has issued official warnings to 12 countries whose nationals disembarked on St. Helena before quarantine. The list of countries is:
- Canada
- Denmark
- Germany
- Netherlands
- New Zealand
- St. Kitts and Nevis
- Singapore
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Turkey
- United Kingdom
- United States
Contact tracing on three continents; From Georgia to Singapore
Following the warning, countries involved have begun their surveillance operations. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has classified the hantavirus outbreak at a level of “3”, the lowest level of emergency activation, but has activated its emergency operations centers to coordinate the containment of the disease.
According to the New York Times, American travelers in the states of Georgia, California, Arizona and Texas are being monitored. The Georgia Department of Health said two asymptomatic people are being monitored, and Arizona officials are monitoring an asymptomatic citizen.
In Canada, two citizens had returned to the country before the outbreak was detected, and a third citizen was on a flight with a symptomatic person. Canadian officials have emphasized that all three are currently asymptomatic. Singapore’s infectious diseases agency announced that two of its residents who were on the ship have been quarantined and tested.
In Switzerland, a hospitalized man has tested positive for hantavirus. Danish health authorities have advised a returning citizen to self-isolate. In France, a citizen who had contact with a sick person, although asymptomatic, is also being monitored.
Trump’s response and global reassurance
In brief remarks on the outbreak, US President Donald Trump said he had received reports of hantavirus and “hopefully it’s completely under control.” Asked whether there was any need for public concern, he said: “I hope not.”
The reassurance was echoed by the World Health Organization’s firm stance. “This is a specific, limited environment. Given the experience of member states, we do not expect a major pandemic,” Abdulrahman Mahmoud, the organization’s director of emergency preparedness and response, told a news conference in Geneva.
Maria Van Kerkhove, the organization’s director of pandemic preparedness and prevention, echoed the message more bluntly: “This is not SARS-CoV-2. This is not the beginning of a pandemic. This is not Covid. Most hantaviruses are transmitted by rodents, and human-to-human transmission is uncommon.”
Strict health surveillance protocol
The World Health Organization has said that infected people should remain in quarantine and those who have been exposed must also be actively monitored for 42 days. Mahmoud said the way this monitoring is implemented may vary from country to country: “Some countries may use institutional quarantine, while others will rely on daily health monitoring by healthcare workers.”
Transfer of patients from the ship and the latest situation
On May 6, three patients were transferred from the ship. Two of them are now hospitalized in the Netherlands, and the third has been transferred to Germany for treatment. Martin Anstey, one of the tour guides who is hospitalized in the Netherlands, said he is “doing well” but “there are still many tests to be done.”
The Düsseldorf University Clinic in Germany also said that the hospitalized person has not yet been confirmed as a confirmed case and is being investigated as a contact of the patient.
A KLM flight attendant who had been in contact with the deceased Dutch woman has been hospitalized in Amsterdam after showing possible symptoms, RTL Holland reported.
Climate Change and Warnings About Hantavirus Spread
At the same time, public health experts in Argentina have warned that climate change is increasing the risk of hantavirus spreading. “Because of climate change, Argentina is becoming more tropical, which has exacerbated disorders such as dengue fever and yellow fever, and has also brought new tropical plants whose seeds are breeding ground for rats,” said Hugo Pizzi, a leading infectious disease expert in the country. “With time, hantavirus will undoubtedly spread more and more.”
Ship Heads to Canary Islands
The MV Hondius, with more than 140 remaining passengers and crew members, who are currently asymptomatic, is now heading to Spain’s Canary Islands. The World Health Organization said it is developing step-by-step instructions for when the passengers will disembark on Saturday or Sunday and return to their countries. The organization stressed that both the overall public health risk and the risk to the Canary Islands remain “low.”
Why is this outbreak so rare?
The outbreak of hantavirus on the MV Hondius is an exceptional event in public health history in several ways:
First, hantavirus is typically found sporadically in rural areas, not on a modern cruise ship.
Second, the Andean strain identified in this outbreak is the only hantavirus strain in the world with limited human-to-human transmission.
Third, the dispersion of dozens of potential exposed passengers across several countries before the disease was officially declared a pandemic has made contact tracing a major logistical challenge.
And fourth, the virus’s long incubation period, which can last several weeks, means that new cases will likely emerge in the days and weeks to come. Investigations into the initial source of contamination are ongoing, and suspicions have been raised that some passengers were exposed to infected rodents during the ship's stop in southern Argentina, possibly while visiting birdwatching sites.
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