Overview
- In a late-May update, WHO reported 13 cases linked to the MV Hondius, including 11 laboratory-confirmed infections and three deaths among passengers or crew.
- Investigators say epidemiologic findings and near-identical viral sequences point to person-to-person transmission of the Andes (Andes Sur) hantavirus aboard the ship.
- WHO estimated an average incubation of about 22 days and reaffirmed a 42-day quarantine for high-risk contacts to cover late-onset cases.
- More than 20 countries have identified and are monitoring hundreds of contacts after the cruise, with new confirmed cases detected in Canada, Spain, and the Netherlands and one suspected U.S. case discarded.
- Separately, Buenos Aires province reported a local rise in hantavirus — 18 cases and seven deaths — which health officials link to seasonal increases in rodent exposure and have prompted intensified local surveillance and close monitoring of contacts.