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MV Hondius hantavirus outbreak
MV Hondius at Spitsbergen in June 2025
Disease	Hantavirus infection, including hantavirus pulmonary syndrome
Virus strain	Andes virus[1]
Date	1 April 2026 – present[2]
Confirmed cases	6[3]
Suspected cases‡	8[4][5]
Deaths	3[5]
‡Suspected cases have not been confirmed by laboratory tests as being due to this strain, although some other strains may have been ruled out.

In April 2026, an outbreak of hantavirus infection due to the Andes virus was identified on the Dutch cruise ship MV Hondius. On 1 April 2026, the ship left Ushuaia, Argentina. On 11 April, a passenger died on board from the virus, and his body was removed from the vessel thirteen days later, on 24 April in Saint Helena, where his wife also disembarked. Two days later, she also died in a hospital in Johannesburg. A British passenger was sent to Johannesburg for treatment, in critical but stable condition. A third passenger died on board. The ship left for Tenerife on 6 May, after the Spanish Ministry of Health approved the ship's arrival, where the passengers will be evacuated to their respective countries. Previously, it had been docked at Praia, Cape Verde; the president of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo, had objected to the ship's arrival out of concerns for the islanders' safety. During the ship's stop in Saint Helena, 30 passengers disembarked, all of whom have been contact traced by the UK Health Security Agency. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has classified the outbreak as a 'level 3' emergency response, and the Dutch National Institute for Public Health has classified it as level A2 infectious disease.

The Andes virus is the only known hantavirus to spread between people. This spread, though rare, has previously occurred, usually in cases of close and often sustained contact. Since the start of the outbreak, the World Health Organization has emphasized that the risk of an epidemic is low due to this rarity, and that only limited spread among close contacts has been observed in previous outbreaks. As of 8 May 2026^[update], passengers are hospitalized in South Africa, the Netherlands, Germany, Saint Helena, Spain and Switzerland, while the ship is on its way to Tenerife with additional medical resources and 147 individuals on board. According to the World Health Organization, there are eight suspected cases, including six confirmed cases as of 9 May. There have been three deaths, two of which has been confirmed as caused by the Andes virus.

Hantaviruses, of which there are more than fifty types, are viruses that infect rodents and sometimes humans.^[6][7] In rodents, hantavirus infections, while usually persistent, do not result in symptoms. Infected animals can spread the virus to uninfected animals through aerosols or droplets from their feces, urine, saliva, and blood,^{[6][8][unreliable medical source?]} through consumption of contaminated food, or from virus particles shed from skin or fur.^[9] Andes virus is a species of Hantaviridae, a taxonomic family of viruses. In humans, Andes virus usually causes hantavirus pulmonary syndrome – a severe illness affecting the heart and breathing.^[10]

On 6 May, it was confirmed that the Andes virus, which is normally found in South America,^[11] was responsible for the outbreak.^[12] While hantaviruses are normally carried and spread by rodents exclusively, the Andes virus has been documented to spread between people in rare cases, especially those involving people in close or prolonged contact.^{[8][12][unreliable medical source?][13]} Spread on board Hondius has been at least partially attributed to human-to-human transmission.^[14] Earlier outbreaks include a "super-spreader" event in Argentina, where one introduction of the virus led to 34 infections.^[15]

The MV Hondius is owned by the Dutch company Oceanwide Expeditions.^[16] The ship has accommodation for 196 passengers across 95 cabins, and a crew of 72.^[17] The ship departed from Ushuaia, Argentina,^[16] the southernmost city in the world,^[18] on 1 April, with plans to visit Antarctica and "several isolated islands in the South Atlantic".^[16] Around 150 passengers and crew^[a] of 23 nationalities were on board Hondius.^[7] Passengers mostly came from Spain, France, the United Kingdom, and the United States, while the bulk of the crew came from the Philippines.^[20] Berth prices on the cruise ranged from €14,000 to €22,000.^[21]

The ship departed from Ushuaia on 1 April with 175 passengers and crew.^[22] On 6 April a 70-year-old Dutch man began showing symptoms.^[23] He then became the first to die on board the ship on 11 April.^[16][23] At the time, the death was attributed to generic natural causes,^[23] and the ship stopped at Tristan da Cunha on 13–15 April.^[24][25] On 24 April, the Dutchman's body was taken off the ship, two weeks after his death,^[8][16] upon the ship's arrival at Saint Helena, a British Overseas Territory. At this time, passengers disembarked the ship; among them was the man's 69-year-old widow, who later took a plane to South Africa.^[26] Oceanwide Expeditions reports the number of disembarked passengers to be 30,^[27] while the Dutch government reports the number to be approximately 40.^[26] The disembarked passengers are from 12 countries and returned home before contact tracing began.^[28]

On 26 April, the widow boarded KLM flight KL592 (codeshare AF8282, DL9560, SK6855) from Johannesburg to Amsterdam, but was removed from the plane before takeoff due to her medical condition,^[29] and she died in a hospital in South Africa on the same day.^[8] The widow was on the plane for 45 minutes.^[30] After stopping in Saint Helena, the ship continued on to Ascension Island,^[31] where an ill British passenger was removed and flown to South Africa for hospital care. On 27 April, Hondius left Ascension Island.^[32] On 2 May, a German woman died on board,^[16][33] and, as of 8 May^[update], her body remains on board the ship.^[5] Following the identification of the outbreak, passengers were told to limit close contact and frequently use hand sanitizer.^[34]

On 3 May, the ship docked in Praia, the capital of Cape Verde.^[8][16] The authorities said they were sending medical supplies and officials to support the ship, and officials in Praia also expanded safety protocols near the port as a precautionary measure.^[16] The Cape Verdean government announced the creation of an isolation area and the coordination of a multidisciplinary team to provide assistance to the ship's passengers and crew.^[35][36] Around the same time, South African officials began precautionary contact tracing.^[16] By 4 May, gene sequencing had identified the Andes virus in at least one infected person.^[37]

On 6 May, the ship was in Cape Verde, which was not considered able to handle the scale of operation needed for the ship's evacuation.^[8] Instead, it intended to travel to Tenerife and have its passengers depart there, but the president of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo, said he "cannot allow [Hondius] to enter the Canaries" and refused to receive the ship in Tenerife.^[8][38] However, the WHO said that "Spain has a moral and legal obligation to assist these people, among whom are several Spanish citizens".^[8] His refusal stemmed from concern that the ship's arrival would endanger the people of the Canary Islands, a view shared by many islanders, particularly in light of their experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic.^[38]

On 6 May, the Swiss government confirmed that a man infected with hantavirus was being treated in Zurich, Switzerland. Swiss authorities confirmed that the patient was a passenger on the cruise ship, bringing the total number of infections to eight.^[40] The man was one of the 30 passengers who disembarked on 24 April.^[21] On the same day, it was announced that three more people experiencing symptoms had been sent to the Netherlands by two air ambulances for treatment; these were a 56-year-old Briton, a 41-year-old Dutch national, and a 65-year-old German.^[8][41] The BBC reported at the time that two of these three were crew members, including the ship's doctor, who is the 56-year-old Briton.^[8] The Guardian, however, reports that the 56-year-old Briton is ex-police officer Martin Anstee, and that the ship's doctor is the evacuated Dutch national.^[5][42]

The first plane carrying two patients landed in the Netherlands on 6 May; the German national was later transferred to University Hospital of Düsseldorf and the Briton to Leiden University Medical Center.^[43][44] The second plane carrying the Dutch national diverted to Gran Canaria and awaited a replacement aircraft after experiencing technical issues in its life support systems.^[45][46] On 6 May, the ship left Cape Verde for the Canary Islands.^[47] Three medical professionals, of whom two were epidemiologists,^[26] boarded the ship prior to its departure.^[48] The epidemiologists are to investigate the scope of the virus's spread on the ship before its arrival in the Canary Islands.^[26]

On 6 May, two anonymous Argentine investigators claimed that the leading hypothesis was that the index case—the Dutch citizen who showed the first symptoms—had contracted the virus.^[49][42] On 6 May, the Argentine health ministry published a report detailing the movements of the index case, the Dutch citizen who presented the first symptoms, prior to the ship's departure; the report showed he had gone on a four-month road trip between 27 November 2025 and 1 April 2026, spanning Chile, Uruguay, and Argentina. Meanwhile, the National Ministry of Health and the Malbrán Institute are advancing the epidemiological investigation at the local level, capturing and testing rodents along the route the Dutch passenger travelled, as well as conducting contact tracing. The index case had returned to Argentina from Uruguay only four days before departure.^[50]

Despite the objections of the Canary Islands' president, Spain approved the plan for the Hondius to dock in Tenerife, with its health agency stating it was "in accordance with international law and humanitarian principles".^[42] The ship set sail for the islands on 6 May, with an expected arrival on 9 May.^[42][51] The ship will remain anchored off the coast, and the evacuation will be conducted by small boats. Once the ship's passengers have disembarked, they will be taken to the airport, with no contact with the islands' residents.^[52] From there, they will be evacuated by their respective countries.^[23]

On May 6, four medical experts embarked while the ship was leaving Cape Verde. Two of these were medical specialists from Amsterdam University Medical Center and Central Military Hospital, a military hospital in Utrecht. The two others were epidemiologists from Italy and the Netherlands, meant to investigate the scope of the virus on the ship.^[22] The selection, transport and coordination of these experts was assisted by the World Health Organization and European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.^[53]

On 7 May, one of the flight attendants on the flight from Johannesburg to Amsterdam on 26 April was admitted to Amsterdam University Medical Center on suspicion of infection, having been in contact with the deceased Dutch woman.^[54] She was showing mild symptoms as of 7 May.^[30] She, however, has tested negative for the virus as of 8 May 2026.^[55] The Dutch government also sent two medical professionals to Cape Verde to provide medical support to the remaining passengers.^[26] On 7 May, the diverted flight carrying the third patient from the ship landed in the Netherlands, and was hospitalized at Radboud University Medical Center.^[54] Later that day, the patient tested positive for the virus.^[56] The same day, the Singapore Communicable Diseases Agency announced that two residents who had been on the cruise and on the same flight as the Dutch woman from Saint Helena to Johannesburg—one of them symptomatic—were being tested.^[57]

On this day, a comprehensive risk analysis of the individuals on the two flights the deceased woman had taken was completed by GGD Kennemerland, the Dutch municipal health service responsible for Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. Five individuals were categorized as high risk for having assisted the woman in leaving KLM flight KL592. The hospitalized flight attendant is one of them.^[30] An additional 50 individuals were deemed lower risk, as they had been seated within two rows of the woman. The GGD is still attempting to contact these individuals.^[30] The remaining individuals have been informed and are considered to be at the lowest risk.^[58] From the first flight from Saint Helena to Johannesburg, three individuals have been tested due to symptoms; two of those tests have since come back negative.^[59]

On 7 May, it was reported that two patients had been identified as having the Andes virus in lab work by the National Institute for Communicable Diseases of South Africa.^[60] The same day, the UK Health Security Agency told the BBC that all thirty people who left the ship during its stop in Saint Helena had been identified and contact traced.^[14] Two of these are Britons who are currently isolating without symptoms.^[5] The Quebec Health Minister confirmed that three Canadians are isolating in Quebec and Ontario. Two of them disembarked in Saint Helena on 24 April, and the third flew on the same flight as the deceased woman to Johannesburg.^[28] On 7 May, Oceanwide Expeditions said the ship is expected to arrive at the Port of Granadilla, Tenerife in the early hours of Sunday, 10 May.^[61][62][63]

On 8 May, it was confirmed that the second British national in a health facility in South Africa, who had been on the same flight as the deceased Dutch woman, tested positive. Another Briton is suspected by the UK Health Security Agency of having contracted the virus on the island of Tristan da Cunha, where the ship was docked between 13 and 15 April.^[64][65] This individual is currently hospitalized on the island, and their spouse is isolating.^[66] The KLM stewardess tested negative for the virus on 8 May.^[67] On this day, GGD Kennemerland announced that everyone on flight KL592 was being monitored and in contact with the GGD, an escalation of the prior risk analysis which only deemed the two rows around the deceased to be at risk.^{[citation needed]} The Secretary of State, Ministry of Health of Spain also confirmed that a Spanish passenger on KL592 was symptomatic and hospitalized in Alicante. The individual sat two rows behind the deceased, and is thus classified as lower risk.^[68] The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention classified the outbreak as 'Level 3' emergency response, the lowest on the CDC classification scale. The US administration announced the publication of a full report on the outbreak later that day.^[69] In a press conference, the Director of Epidemiology and Environmental Health for Tierra del Fuego's Ministry of Health stated that the patients on the Hondius were unlikely to have been infected in the province.^[70]

As of 8 May, evacuation plans for the arrival of the ship on the Canary Islands are being finalized. Spain is coordinating the arrival of the ship with 22 countries, and the World Health Organization. Almost all countries are sending evacuation aircraft for their citizens, and the European Union is providing two aircraft for those who do not have an assigned flight.^[71] The Spanish minister of health has indicated that foreign nationals will not be permitted to stay in the Canary Islands, even if they show symptoms and require medical care.^[72] The ship will anchor off the coast, and take patients directly to the airport by speedboat and car only if a plane is ready, with no contact with outside individuals.^[73] Countries have differing quarantine plans for their nationals once evacuated.^[74][72]

There have been three deaths, with only one confirmed to have been caused by hantavirus.^[75] The other two remain under investigation.^[75] As of 8 May 2026, the World Health Organisation reports eight suspected cases and five confirmed cases.^[76] On 8 May, the UK Health and Safety Agency reported one additional suspected case, and two Britons being confirmed infected.^[77][78] Two Singaporean men aged in their 60s tested negative.^[79][80] There are symptomatic patients in six countries, with confirmed cases in South Africa and Switzerland and unconfirmed cases in Saint Helena, the Netherlands, Spain, and France.^[81][82] This excludes the airlifted patients, who have tested positive and are being treated in Germany and the Netherlands. In the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada, some people may have been in proximity to cases but are not showing symptoms.^[82]

As of 8 May 2026, the ship is between Cape Verde and the Canary Islands (Port of Granadilla on Tenerife), with 147 individuals and one dead body still on board.^[22]

By first-hand accounts, the MV Hondius has a small, routine medical facility on board. It is intended more for the minor health problems typically arising at sea, and stocks anti-inflammatory drugs, some over-the-counter medications, and oxygen tanks. It lacks the kind of sophisticated equipment such as scanners or ventilators needed to diagnose or treat serious respiratory illness.^{[83][non-primary source needed]} Oceanwide Expeditions states themselves that passengers do not have access to sophisticated medical facilities.^[84] The ship has one doctor.^[85]

By the end of April, the ship's doctor was among the two crew members who were very ill and confined to quarters. On May 1, one of the passengers who was a doctor, began rendering medical assistance to other passengers and crew. As the situation escalated, he also provided health care information resource for passengers on board, as well as the central point of contact on board for health authorities.^{[83][non-primary source needed]} While docked outside Cape Verde, two doctors and one nurse would make three trips to the ship to provide additional care to passengers.^[86]

On May 6, four medical experts embarked while the ship was leaving Cape Verde. Two of these were medical specialists from Amsterdam University Medical Center and Central Military Hospital [nl] in Utrecht. The two others were epidemiologists from Italy and the Netherlands, meant to investigate the scope of the virus on the ship.^[22] The selection, transport and coordination of these experts was assisted by the World Health Organization and European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.^[85]

The WHO is coordinating monitoring of those who disembarked or were evacuated with health care agencies in twelve countries, including Canada, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States.^[87]

Passengers repatriated to their home country or being treated in other locations as of 8 May include nationals of Canada, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Tristan da Cunha, the United Kingdom, and the United States.^[87]

• France – Eight French nationals who had been in contact with an evacuated passenger who died are being tested and monitored.^[87]

• Germany – One German passenger died aboard ship.^[87] Another German national was evacuated on 6 May and is currently hospitalized in Germany,^[88] but has since tested negative.^[89]

• Netherlands – Eight passengers and five crew hold Dutch nationality; two passengers have died as of 8 May, one after evacuation to South Africa.

• Spain - Passengers will be flown to Madrid for isolation.^[90] The decision by Spanish authorities to let the ship dock in Tenerife is controversial and was opposed by authorities in the Canaries.^[87]

• Switzerland – A Swiss national who disembarked in Saint Helena tested positive, and was admitted to a Zurich hospital.^[87]

• United Kingdom – One British national left the cruise ship in Tristan da Cunha and seven in Saint Helena. There are two other confirmed cases, one evacuated to the Netherlands, and the other to South Africa.^[87]

• United States – At least six passengers are being monitored by health care authorities in five states: Arizona, California, Georgia, Texas, and Virginia. The CDC notified at least three state health agencies and is coordinating with them about state residents who were on board, including two passengers from Georgia, one from Arizona, and some California residents.^[91] On 8 May, US officials said that 17 American passengers still aboard the ship would be repatriated on a US government medical flight to Nebraska and transported from Offutt Air Force Base near Omaha to the National Quarantine Unit at the University of Nebraska Medical Center for monitoring and evaluation.^[92] Nebraska Medicine and UNMC confirmed that federal partners had asked them to receive and monitor US citizens from the ship in the National Quarantine Unit.^[93]

• 1 April: MV Hondius departs Ushuaia, Argentina.^[8]
• 6 April: The first person begins showing symptoms.^[23]
• 11 April: The first person dies on board the ship;^[16] it is originally attributed to natural causes.^[23]
• 13–15 April: Hondius makes a stop in Tristan da Cunha.^[24][94]
• 24 April: Hondius stops in Saint Helena where 30 passengers disembark^[14], including the body of the deceased and his wife, who are airlifted to Johannesburg.^[8]
• 26 April: The wife of the first victim dies in a Johannesburg hospital.^[16]

• 2 May: A third person dies on board the ship.^[16]
• 3 May: The ship arrives at Praia, Cape Verde.^[8]
• 4 May: The first positive test for the Andes virus is received.^[2]
• 6 May: The ship leaves Cape Verde for the Canary Islands. Three more people are evacuated from the ship to the Netherlands, including the ship's doctor.^[8]
• 8 May: The ship with 147 aboard was en route to the Canary Islands for a 22-country evacuation, with three deaths and six confirmed hantavirus cases across multiple countries.

• Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome
• 1993 Four Corners hantavirus outbreak
• 2012 Yosemite hantavirus outbreak
• MV Hondius hantavirus outbreak in the United States
• COVID-19 pandemic on cruise ships
• COVID-19 pandemic on Diamond Princess

• HantavirusMap – Live world map of hantavirus cases, live news, and the route of MV Hondius.
• VesselFinder – current position of MV Hondius on map
• "Hantavirus cluster linked to cruise ship travel, Multi-country". Disease Outbreak News. World Health Organisation. 4 May 2026. Retrieved 6 May 2026.