☣️ Hantavirus Outbreak Tracker

Index case (Case 1, Dutch male, 70) completes a 4-month road trip through Chile, Uruguay and Argentina. Likely exposed to Andes hantavirus via rodent contact — leading hypothesis is a birding tour to a landfill site near Ushuaia.

149 passengers from 23 nationalities board. Itinerary: South Georgia, Tristan da Cunha, Ascension Island, Saint Helena, Cape Verde.

Case 1 develops fever, headache, abdominal pain and diarrhoea.

Case 1 goes into respiratory distress and dies on board. Classified as a probable case (no PCR test taken). Body removed at Saint Helena Apr 24.

Case 8 (British national) disembarks at Tristan da Cunha. Will develop symptoms on Apr 28.

Case 2 (Dutch female, 69, wife of Case 1) develops GI symptoms.

Case 2 goes ashore at Saint Helena. Case 3 (unknown nationality, adult male) presents to ship doctor with fever, shortness of breath and signs of pneumonia.

Case 2 boards flight to Johannesburg; deteriorates mid-flight. Dies on arrival Apr 26. Case 3's condition worsens.

Case 3 medically evacuated from Ascension Island to South Africa (Johannesburg ICU).

Case 4 (German female) develops fever and malaise Apr 28. Rapid deterioration. Dies on board May 2.

WHO notified. PCR confirms hantavirus in Cases 2 & 3 (Andes virus). WHO Disease Outbreak Notice DON599 issued. Ship anchors off Cape Verde.

PCR retrospectively confirms hantavirus in Case 2 (posthumous). Total confirmed: 3.

MV Hondius departs Cape Verde. Spain's central government overrides Canary Islands opposition and permits docking at Tenerife.

Switzerland confirms Case 5 — a returned passenger at University Hospital Zurich (FOPH statement). 3 passengers evacuated from ship by Cape Verde.

UK confirms 2 additional cases (Cases 6 & 7 — British nationals who returned home). Total confirmed reaches 6. 30+ contacts across 12+ countries under tracing. WHO maintains LOW global risk.

Probable case confirmed at Tristan da Cunha (Case 8 — British national). Ship between Cape Verde and Tenerife. WHO DG Tedros to travel to Tenerife for evacuation coordination. No symptomatic cases on board. US passengers to be repatriated to Offutt Air Force Base, Omaha on US government medical flight. UK government also arranging repatriation flight.

MV Hondius makes final approach to Tenerife. WHO DG Tedros meets Spanish PM Pedro Sánchez before heading to the island. CDC deploys team of epidemiologists and medical professionals to the Canary Islands to conduct exposure risk assessments for each American passenger. WHO ships 2,500 diagnostic kits from Argentina to laboratories in 5 countries to strengthen testing capacity. Spanish authorities finalize cordoned-off isolation processing area for repatriation.

WHO publishes follow-up Disease Outbreak Notice (DON600) consolidating multi-country surveillance. CDC formally alerts US clinicians to be aware of potential imported hantavirus cases as ~17 American passengers return home across 5+ states. Hospitalized cabin crew member earlier feared symptomatic tests NEGATIVE for hantavirus. Total still stands at 8 cases / 3 deaths — no new confirmed cases in 48 hours. WHO and ECDC continue to assess global public health risk as LOW.

MV Hondius arrives at Port of Granadilla, Tenerife at approximately 5:30 a.m. local time (WHO confirmed). Disembarkation begins on the same day. By Sunday evening, 94 people of 19 nationalities had disembarked, escorted ashore by personnel in full-body protective gear and breathing masks, then transferred to a cordoned isolation area and onward to repatriation buses and chartered flights. ~17 US passengers en route to the Nebraska National Quarantine Unit (Omaha, Offutt AFB) for 21-day observation; CDC epidemiologists conducted individual exposure-risk assessments before transfer. Five French nationals evacuated to Paris (72 h hospitalisation + 45-day home quarantine). UK, Dutch, Australian, Canadian and Irish governments operating their own repatriation flights — EU provides two additional aircraft for nationals without an assigned flight. Body of Case 4 being repatriated to Germany under public-health protocols. Local Tenerife protests continue but remain peaceful. WHO Director-General Dr Tedros on the ground in Tenerife coordinating with Spanish PM Sánchez; Pope Leo publicly thanks Canary Islands for their hospitality to patients. WHO and ECDC continue to assess global public health risk as LOW — Dr Tedros reiterates 'This is not another COVID.'

HHS announces that one American passenger evacuated on the US government repatriation flight has tested PCR-positive for the Andes hantavirus (Case 9). The patient is asymptomatic and was placed in an aircraft biocontainment unit. A second American (Case 10) developed mild symptoms during the same flight and is also being transported in biocontainment 'out of an abundance of caution'; PCR result pending. The aircraft (carrying 18 passengers in total) is heading to the ASPR Regional Emerging Special Pathogen Treatment Center (RESPTC) at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha; the symptomatic patient will then be transferred to a second RESPTC. Australia's evacuation plane arrives in Tenerife to fly out Australian, New Zealand and other allied-country nationals. Remaining Hondius crew expected to sail the vessel onward to Rotterdam in the Netherlands. Updated totals: 10 cases (7 confirmed / 3 suspected) · 3 deaths. WHO global risk assessment remains LOW.

ABC News reports the 18 US evacuees now distributed across two RESPTCs: 16 at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (Omaha) and 2 at Emory University Hospital (Atlanta) — Case 10 (symptomatic, PCR pending) among them. WHO and ECDC global public health risk assessment remains LOW. MV Hondius crew preparing to sail vessel onward from Tenerife to Rotterdam.

ECDC publishes updated multi-country surveillance brief (12 May 2026): total raised to 11 cases — 9 confirmed and 2 probable, with 3 deaths (2 lab-confirmed hantavirus, 1 suspected). Two new confirmations since May 11: Case 10 (American, PCR back positive) and Case 11 — a French national repatriated to Paris on May 10 now hospitalized in severe condition. France becomes the 7th country to confirm a case. WHO confirms no evidence of wider community transmission; global risk assessment held at LOW. ABC News live blog reports the French patient is presenting a 'severe form' of the virus.

No new confirmed or probable cases reported in the last 24 hours. Totals stable at 11 cases (9 confirmed, 2 probable) · 3 deaths (2 lab-confirmed hantavirus, 1 suspected). ECDC May 12 brief remains the latest official multi-country surveillance update; CDC Level 3 emergency response continues. Of the 18 US evacuees: 16 monitored at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (15 in the quarantine unit, 1 PCR-positive in biocontainment) and 2 at Emory University Hospital, Atlanta. Hondius crew preparing onward sailing from Tenerife to Rotterdam. WHO/ECDC global public health risk assessment held at LOW.

WHO publishes Disease Outbreak News DON601 consolidating multi-country surveillance: 11 cases (8 confirmed, 1 inconclusive, 2 probable) — CFR ~27%. ECDC publishes parallel 13 May 2026 surveillance update at ecdc.europa.eu. Confirmed cases now distributed across South Africa, Spain, France, Switzerland and the Netherlands; probable cases in Saint Helena and the United States. CIDRAP and major outlets continue to report the consolidated total as 11 cases (9 confirmed, 2 probable) · 3 deaths. WHO emphasises subsequent human-to-human transmission was confined to the close-contact shipboard environment; global risk assessment held at LOW. No evidence of wider community transmission anywhere on land. Japan Times reports lingering uncertainty over Andes virus airborne transmission complicates the global response.

Day 2 since the last new confirmed case (Case 11, France, 12 May). Cumulative totals hold at 11 cases · 3 deaths. Following WHO DON601 (13 May), the breakdown is 8 confirmed · 1 inconclusive · 2 probable; CIDRAP and several outlets report it as 9 confirmed / 2 probable. No new confirmations or probable cases reported in the last 48 hours. CDC Level 3 emergency response continues. All 18 US evacuees remain at the Nebraska RESPTC (16) and Atlanta RESPTC (2); 45-day French home-quarantine cohort and broader contact-tracing across 12+ countries ongoing. Hondius crew preparing onward sailing from Tenerife to Rotterdam. WHO/ECDC global public health risk assessment held at LOW.

Dr. Stephen Kornfeld, the American passenger flagged as 'faintly positive' on the US repatriation flight and classified by WHO DON601 as the single inconclusive case, has been confirmed NEGATIVE on follow-up PCR testing (CNN, ABC News). He has been moved out of the Nebraska RESPTC biocontainment unit; blood test results still pending. Net effect: no new confirmed cases; the WHO breakdown trends toward 8 confirmed · 0 inconclusive · 2 probable pending an official update. Cumulative totals unchanged at 11 reported cases · 3 deaths. UKHSA also publishes May 12 explainer for the public. Stanford Medicine releases 'Five things to know about hantavirus' for clinicians and the public.

WHO and ECDC issue 14 May surveillance update — totals unchanged at 11 cases (8 confirmed, 2 probable, 1 inconclusive) · 3 deaths; no new cases or deaths since the previous update. ABC News reports 41 Americans now under active CDC monitoring across multiple states (18 evacuees at RESPTCs + ~23 earlier-disembarked passengers/contacts identified across AZ, CA, GA, TX, VA and others). NPR reports the French national (Case 11) remains in critical condition in Paris (escalated from earlier 'severe form' reporting). Japan Times notes lingering scientific uncertainty over Andes virus airborne transmission complicates the global response. MV Hondius crew preparing onward sailing from Tenerife to Rotterdam. WHO/ECDC global public health risk assessment held at LOW; CDC Level 3 emergency response continues.

Dashboard catches up with WHO DON601 distribution — Spain's confirmed case formally added as Case 12: adult Spanish national who tested PCR-positive at Gómez Ulla Central Defence Hospital, Madrid on the evening of May 11 (Spanish Ministry of Health; confirmed by Al Jazeera, SCMP, Euronews and WHO DON601). Patient stable with low-grade fever and mild respiratory symptoms; 13 other Spanish evacuees at the same hospital tested negative. Spain becomes the 8th country with a confirmed case. MV Hondius has departed Tenerife and is sailing onward to Rotterdam — operator Oceanwide Expeditions confirms ETA of May 17 or 18, where the vessel will undergo a 'thorough cleaning and disinfection process' coordinated with GGD Rotterdam, RIVM and Dutch authorities. Filipino crew began a 42-day quarantine in the Netherlands on May 12 (NL Times). Updated cumulative totals: 12 cases · 3 deaths. Outbreak status held at WHO/ECDC LOW global public health risk; no new cases reported since the Spanish confirmation on May 11. Oceanwide Expeditions to announce by week's end when the vessel will resume cruises (PBS NewsHour, The Hill, Boston Globe).

Day 4 since the last new confirmed case (Case 12, Spain, 11 May). No new cases or deaths reported in the last 24 hours. WHO and ECDC have not issued a fresh Disease Outbreak Notice since DON601 (13 May) and the 14 May ECDC multi-country surveillance brief — both still listing 11 cases (8 confirmed · 1 inconclusive · 2 probable) · 3 deaths, with the dashboard's parallel count at 12 reflecting the Spanish case formally added on 15 May (10 confirmed / 2 probable). CDC Level 3 emergency response continues; UNMC's Center for Biosecurity publishes new modelling work suggesting future hantavirus outbreaks may become more likely as carrier-rodent ranges expand. The Santa Barbara Independent reports five Californians among the cohort exposed during the MV Hondius voyage — all asymptomatic and under CDC monitoring. Japan Times: lingering scientific uncertainty over Andes virus airborne transmission continues to complicate the global response. MV Hondius en route to Rotterdam (ETA May 17–18) for cleaning and disinfection. WHO/ECDC global public health risk assessment held at LOW.