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Hantavirus Cruise Outbreak Reaches Five Confirmed Cases as Ship Diverts to Canary Islands

WHO says the public risk is low due to the Andes strain’s need for very close contact.

Health workers in protective gear evacuate patients from the MV Hondius cruise ship into an ambulance at a port in Praia, Cape Verde, Wednesday, May 6, 2026.
Health workers in protective gear arrive to evacuate patients from the MV Hondius cruise ship at a port in Praia, Cape Verde, Wednesday, May 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)
Test tubes labelled "Hantavirus positive and negative" are held in this illustration taken May 7, 2026. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
A person in a hazmat suit (2R) is escorted to a ambulance from a medical aircraft allegedly carrying some of the passengers from the cruise ship MV Hondius believed to be infected with hantavirus, at Schiphol airport near Amsterdam on May 6, 2026.

Overview

  • WHO on Thursday said five infections are confirmed and three are suspected, including three deaths, with sequencing pointing to the Andes strain.
  • The MV Hondius is routing to Tenerife for controlled screening and disembarkation this weekend under Spanish oversight after earlier friction with the Canary Islands’ leader.
  • The UK Health Security Agency reported a new suspected British case on Tristan da Cunha and plans for asymptomatic passengers to isolate for 45 days after repatriation.
  • Health agencies in at least 12 countries are tracing passengers who left at St Helena and treating evacuees in South Africa, the Netherlands and Germany, while no one still on board has symptoms.
  • The US CDC raised its response to level 3 yet says the risk to Americans is extremely low, noting rare person‑to‑person spread and an incubation that can stretch up to six weeks.