- Vessel
- MV Hondius
- Type
- Polar expedition cruise ship
- Departed
- Ushuaia, Argentina · 2026-04-18
- Arrived
- Granadilla, Tenerife, Canary Islands · 2026-05-10
- Aboard
- ≈170 passengers and crew
- Suspected strain
- Andes-like hantavirus
- Incubation period
- 1 – 6 weeks (typical 2 – 4 weeks)
Where cluster cases have been reported
These counts are passengers and crew of this single voyage — they are tracked separately from the global hantavirus surveillance dataset on the homepage globe (which counts autochthonous cases per country, including pre-outbreak Spain / UK figures).
Spanish passenger falls ill following ship arrival at Tenerife; additional cases identified during disembarkation.
British passengers identified by U.K. Health Security Agency contact tracing.
Five states monitoring returning passengers; federal quarantine activated at Nebraska facility for 18 exposed travellers.
The cluster, in chronological order
- 2026-04-18Voyage departsinfo
MV Hondius, an expedition cruise ship operated for polar tourism, departs Ushuaia, Argentina on a circuit through the Falkland Islands, South Georgia, and Saint Helena.
Oceanwide Expeditions itinerary ↗ - 2026-05-01Index fatalitycritical
A passenger disembarking the MV Hondius at Jamestown, Saint Helena, dies of acute respiratory failure. Subsequent testing identifies Andes-like hantavirus as the likely cause.
Africa CDC ↗ - 2026-05-06Africa CDC statementalert
Africa CDC issues a public statement on the multi-country cluster, coordinating with Saint Helena and South African public-health authorities on contact tracing of onward-traveling passengers.
Africa CDC ↗ - 2026-05-07WHO confirms clusteralert
WHO confirms five hantavirus cases in the multi-country cluster linked to the MV Hondius and warns more cases may emerge given an incubation window of up to six weeks. ECDC publishes a Rapid Risk Assessment the same day.
World Health Organization ↗ - 2026-05-07CDC issues statementalert
The U.S. CDC publishes a public statement on the situation, confirming the agency is monitoring U.S. travelers who were aboard the vessel.
U.S. CDC Newsroom ↗ - 2026-05-08Multi-state US monitoringalert
Five U.S. states begin actively monitoring passengers who travelled home. The U.K. identifies a new suspected case as the ship prepares to dock in Tenerife.
U.S. CDC / state health departments ↗ - 2026-05-10Ship arrives at Tenerifealert
MV Hondius arrives at the port of Granadilla, Tenerife, Canary Islands. Passengers and crew begin a controlled disembarkation under Spanish public-health supervision; symptomatic patients are medically evacuated to their countries of origin.
ECDC ↗ - 2026-05-11ECDC response activatedinfo
ECDC announces it continues working on the frontline to support EU Member States in the Andes hantavirus outbreak response, including clinical guidance and laboratory confirmation pathways.
ECDC News ↗ - 2026-05-11PAHO Q&A briefinginfo
PAHO holds a public question-and-answer session on hantavirus following the cruise-ship outbreak, addressing transmission and clinical presentation for the regional response.
PAHO ↗ - 2026-05-12Cases rise to 11critical
Confirmed cases linked to the cluster rise to 11 as a Spanish passenger falls ill following disembarkation. 18 U.S. travelers exposed aboard the vessel are transported to a federal quarantine facility in Nebraska; two further travelers are admitted to care in Atlanta; three Utah residents and additional cases in Boston are identified.
Multiple — see live news feed ↗
New developments are aggregated in real time
For items posted in the last few hours, see the live news section on the homepage — it re-pulls from WHO, CDC, ECDC, PAHO, Africa CDC, and news media every 5 minutes. Items matching cruise-cluster keywords are pinned at the top of that feed.
What is Andes hantavirus?
Andes virus is a New-World hantavirus circulating primarily in southern Argentina and Chile, where it is hosted by the long-tailed colilargo rat (Oligoryzomys longicaudatus). It is the only hantavirus with documented person-to-person transmission, which is what makes a cruise-ship cluster epidemiologically distinct from typical Sin Nombre-virus exposures in the United States. Case fatality of Andes hantavirus disease is approximately 25–40%. Initial symptoms are flu-like; rapid progression to Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HCPS) typically begins 4–10 days after onset.
This is informational only. Clinical guidance should come from a licensed clinician or your local public-health authority.
This page is updated as new authoritative bulletins are published. See methodology for how each event is verified before listing.