WHO Confirms 11 Hantavirus Cases Tied to Cruise as Evacuation Wraps Up

Overview

• The international evacuation, completed Monday in Tenerife, returned more than 100 people on government flights and sent the MV Hondius toward the Netherlands for disinfection.
• WHO said Tuesday the tally stands at 11 monitored cases, including nine lab-confirmed infections with the Andes strain and three deaths, with cases reported across seven countries and overall risk rated low.
• A French passenger remains in intensive care in Paris on mechanical ventilation after testing positive following repatriation.
• Other country updates include a provisional positive under hospital quarantine in Madrid and a weak‑positive U.S. case now isolated in a Nebraska biocontainment unit.
• A Dutch university hospital placed 12 staff in six‑week precautionary quarantine after handling patient samples without the tighter protocol, underscoring why contacts face extended monitoring and why labs are tightening safety steps.