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Hantavirus updates: Canadian cruise ship passenger tests positive for hantavirus 

PHOTO: The cruise ship MV Hondius leaves Praia, Cape Verde, May 6, 2026.
1:35
Stringer/Reuters
Officials tracking at least 41 Americans after deadly hantavirus outbreak
By Christopher Watson, Ivan Pereira, Jon Haworth, Mary Kekatos, Nadine El-Bawab, Leah Sarnoff, Kevin Shalvey
Last Updated: May 12, 2026, 1:18 PM

The total number of confirmed and probable cases of hantavirus of those who were onboard the MV Hondius cruise ship stands at 11, including two people confirmed to have died from the virus and one person who remains suspected to have died from the virus.

No cases of Andes hantavirus have been confirmed in the U.S. The eighteen American ship passengers are being monitored at the quarantine unit at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.

Key Headlines

  • Canadian cruise ship passenger tests positive for hantavirus
  • Health officials in Washington state tracking hantavirus case unrelated to cruise ship
  • 2 cruise ship passengers originally in Atlanta now at Nebraska quarantine facility
  • Suspected hantavirus case at upstate New York high school, not linked to cruise ship
  • US has no cases of Andes hantavirus
Here's how the news is developing.

Pinned
May 08, 2026 5:17 PM

What is hantavirus and how does it spread?

Here's what you need to know about hantavirus including what it is, how it spreads, how it's treated and if there are any prevention methods:

What is hantavirus?

Hantaviruses are a family of viruses that can cause serious illnesses and death, according to the CDC.

PHOTO: Stock photo of a colorized electron micrograph of the Hantavirus.
Alfred Pasieka/Science Photo Lib/STOCK PHOTO/Getty Images
Stock photo of a colorized electron micrograph of the Hantavirus.
Alfred Pasieka/Science Photo Lib/STOCK PHOTO/Getty Images

How does hantavirus spread?

Hantaviruses may also spread from person to person, but that also is rare and only suspected for one subtype from South America, according to the WHO.

Read more about hantavirus here.


Pinned
May 07, 2026 5:46 PM

A timeline of the MV Hondius' voyage

The MV Hondius left on its voyage April 1 from Ushuaia, Argentina.

On April 6, a 70-year-old Dutch passenger fell ill with fever, headache and diarrhea, according to the WHO. That passenger died on April 11.

PHOTO: Route of the MV Hondius
Map Tiles byGoogle Earth / vesselfinder.com
Route of the MV Hondius
Map Tiles byGoogle Earth / vesselfinder.com

The ship was between the British island territories of South Georgia and St. Helena in the middle of the South Atlantic, according to data from the ship tracking website MarineTraffic.

The ship sailed on for nearly two weeks, stopping near the island of Tristan da Cunha before reaching St. Helena, where the Dutch man's body was removed on April 24.

A total 29 passengers from 12 countries disembarked while the ship was in Saint Helena.

The Dutch victim's 69-year-old widow also disembarked and flew to South Africa, where she collapsed at an airport there. Two days later, she died from the disease, according to officials.

Another passenger aboard the ship, a German national, died on May 2nd, a day before the ship arrived in Cape Verde.

The next day, the WHO announced it was investigating a suspected hantavirus outbreak on the MV Hondius.

The ship is currently en route to the Canary Islands.


May 12, 2026 1:18 PM

'No sign' of 'larger outbreak,' WHO director-general says

Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization, stressed on Tuesday that “there is no sign that we're seeing the start of a larger outbreak.”

He said the process of offloading passengers from the cruise ship was successful and he opened up about the mental struggles those on board were facing.

PHOTO: World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus briefs the press on the recent hantavirus outbreak linked to the MV Hondius cruise ship during a joint press conference in Madrid, Spain, May 12, 2026.
Chema Moya/EPA/Shutterstock
World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus briefs the press on the recent hantavirus outbreak linked to the MV Hondius cruise ship during a joint press conference in Madrid, Spain, May 12, 2026.
Chema Moya/EPA/Shutterstock

“Almost 150 people from 23 countries were on this ship for weeks, in what must have been a very frightening situation. Even some of the passengers were facing mental breakdown,” he said at a news conference.

“There were some people around the world calling for the passengers to be contained on the ship for the full quarantine period. Our view was that it would have been inhumane and unnecessary,” he said.

PHOTO: Passengers of the hantavirus-stricken cruise ship MV Hondius wait to board buses after disembarking in the port of Granadilla de Abona on the island of Tenerife in Spain's Canary Islands, May 11, 2026.
Jorge Guerrero/AFP via Getty Images
Passengers of the hantavirus-stricken cruise ship MV Hondius wait to board buses after disembarking in the port of Granadilla de Abona on the island of Tenerife in Spain's Canary Islands, May 11, 2026.
Jorge Guerrero/AFP via Getty Images


The director-general said that of the 11 reported cases, all are among the ship’s passengers and crew.

“There have been no deaths since May 2, when WHO was first informed of the cluster of cases,” he said. “All suspected and confirmed cases have been isolated and managed under strict medical supervision, minimizing any risk of further transmission.”

-ABC News’ Othon Leyva


May 12, 2026 12:50 PM

12 US residents under monitoring by state health departments

Twelve U.S. residents are under monitoring by state health departments for hantavirus, according to officials. None of these 12 people have symptoms, officials said.

PHOTO: A passenger from the cruise ship MV Hondius, which was affected by a hantavirus outbreak, boards a plane to travel to the Netherlands, at Tenerife Sur airport, Canary Islands, Spain, May 11, 2026.
Pedro Nunes/Reuters
A passenger from the cruise ship MV Hondius, which was affected by a hantavirus outbreak, boards a plane to travel to the Netherlands, at Tenerife Sur airport, Canary Islands, Spain, May 11, 2026.
Pedro Nunes/Reuters

Seven of the 12 were cruise ship passengers who disembarked before the outbreak was declared: two are in Texas, two are in Georgia, one is in Virginia, one is in Arizona and one is in California.

The other five people were exposed to an infected individual during air travel, officials said. Two are in New Jersey, two are in Maryland and one is in California, officials said.

-ABC News’ Youri Benadjaoud


May 12, 2026 12:44 AM

Maryland health officials monitoring 2 residents after possible hantavirus exposure

The Maryland Department of Health said it is monitoring two residents who were on an overseas flight with a MV Hondius cruise ship passenger who later tested positive for the hantavirus.

Health officials said the monitoring is out of an abundance of caution and that the risk to the public is very low.

“No hantavirus cases have been identified in Maryland since 2019. Andes virus infections have never been reported in Maryland,” the Maryland Health Department said.

-ABC News' Beatrice Peterson



May 11, 2026 8:10 PM

Spanish national tests positive

One of the Spanish passengers isolated at Gómez Ulla Hospital in Madrid has tested provisionally positive, bringing the total likely number of hantaviruses case to 11, according to Spanish Health Minister Monica Garcia.

The passenger does not have symptoms, Garcia said. The passenger is isolate in good condition and is under constant monitoring, Garcia said.

“The other 13 passengers have tested provisionally negative. In the coming hours, we will know the definitive results,” Garcia added.


May 07, 2026 5:46 PM

A timeline of the MV Hondius' voyage

The MV Hondius left on its voyage April 1 from Ushuaia, Argentina.

On April 6, a 70-year-old Dutch passenger fell ill with fever, headache and diarrhea, according to the WHO. That passenger died on April 11.

PHOTO: Route of the MV Hondius
Map Tiles byGoogle Earth / vesselfinder.com
Route of the MV Hondius
Map Tiles byGoogle Earth / vesselfinder.com

The ship was between the British island territories of South Georgia and St. Helena in the middle of the South Atlantic, according to data from the ship tracking website MarineTraffic.

The ship sailed on for nearly two weeks, stopping near the island of Tristan da Cunha before reaching St. Helena, where the Dutch man's body was removed on April 24.

A total 29 passengers from 12 countries disembarked while the ship was in Saint Helena.

The Dutch victim's 69-year-old widow also disembarked and flew to South Africa, where she collapsed at an airport there. Two days later, she died from the disease, according to officials.

Another passenger aboard the ship, a German national, died on May 2nd, a day before the ship arrived in Cape Verde.

The next day, the WHO announced it was investigating a suspected hantavirus outbreak on the MV Hondius.

The ship is currently en route to the Canary Islands.


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