Overview
- The World Health Organization announced on Thursday that the MV Hondius-linked outbreak is over after the final monitored contact finished quarantine and tested negative.
- Health authorities recorded 13 confirmed cases tied to the voyage, including three deaths, and no new infections have been reported since May 25.
- More than 650 contacts in 33 countries were traced and followed during the response, which included passenger evacuation in Tenerife and the ship docking in Rotterdam.
- Investigators have not identified the immediate source aboard the ship, and a 21-country study is now under way to clarify transmission, improve diagnostics, and support treatment and vaccine research.
- Experts stressed that the Andes strain can spread between people, hantavirus has no licensed vaccine or specific antiviral, and WHO urged sustained surveillance and preparedness in endemic South American regions.