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MV Hondius (anchored off Praia, Cabo Verde)

Andes hantavirus HPS · South Atlantic / multi-country · verified active

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Pathogen
Andes
Syndrome
HPS
Confirmed
9
Suspected
3
Deaths
3
Status
active

Summary

Cluster of severe acute respiratory illness aboard the Dutch-flagged expedition cruise ship MV Hondius, which departed Ushuaia, Argentina on 1 April 2026. As of 16 May 2026, the cluster stands at 11 cases — nine laboratory-confirmed Andes virus (ANDV) infections, two probable, one inconclusive — and three deaths (two confirmed, one probable; case-fatality ratio ~27%). The Public Health Agency of Canada's National Microbiology Laboratory confirmed the ninth case on 16 May in a Canadian passenger isolating in British Columbia; one travelling partner of the confirmed case tested negative. France and Spain confirmed cases earlier in repatriation. The ship arrived at Tenerife on 10 May; disembarkation and repatriation flights to six European countries and Canada completed by 11 May. The vessel is sailing to Rotterdam (expected 18 May) carrying 25 crew, two health workers, and the body of a deceased passenger; Dutch authorities have erected 23 quarantine cabins on the Rotterdam dockside. The CDC has classified the response as a level-3 emergency; 41 people across the United States are under monitoring (16 at the University of Nebraska Medical Center biocontainment unit, 2 at an Atlanta facility, plus former passengers and flight contacts). The working hypothesis remains pre-cruise environmental exposure in Patagonia for the index case, with subsequent limited human-to-human transmission on board — Andes virus being the only hantavirus known to transmit person-to-person. WHO assesses global risk as low.

Why this matters

Largest documented Andes virus cluster outside Patagonia and the first hantavirus cluster recorded in a confined-vessel setting. The multi-country surveillance response (10+ countries tracking returnees) has surfaced the operational gaps in cruise-ship infectious-disease reporting. Investigation ongoing; sequencing results pending.

Sources

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