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WHO Confirms Andes Hantavirus in Cruise Cluster as Ship Heads to Canary Islands

Health agencies call the public risk low during a controlled transfer to Spain.

TOPSHOT - An aerial view of an ambulance boat carrying crew members wearing hazmat suits as they approach the pilot door on the starboard side of the cruise ship MV Hondius, while stationary off the port of Praia, the capital of Cape Verde, on May 5, 2026. Two seriously ill crew members on a cruise ship stricken by a deadly hantavirus outbreak will be evacuated via Cape Verde to the Netherlands, allowing the vessel to sail on to Spain's Canary Islands, the ship operator said Tuesday. The MV Hondius has been at the centre of an international health scare since Saturday, when WHO was informed that the rare disease -- usually spread from infected rodents typically through urine, droppings and saliva -- was suspected of being behind the deaths of three of its passengers. As others fell ill, passengers and crew have been in isolation after Cape Verde authorities barred the ship from docking, and as health authorities scrambled to find a port that would take the Hondius. (Photo by AFP via Getty Images)
A drone view of the cruise ship MV Hondius, carrying passengers suspected of having cases of hantavirus on board, leaves Praia, Cape Verde, May 6, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer
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Overview

  • The World Health Organization, which confirmed Wednesday that the strain is the Andes virus, says this is the only hantavirus known to allow limited person‑to‑person spread.
  • Spain agreed to receive the MV Hondius in the Canary Islands after Cape Verde declined, and the operator says passengers are confined to cabins during the voyage.
  • Investigators have linked eight infections to the trip, including three deaths, and WHO warns more cases may appear because incubation can last up to six weeks.
  • Global contact tracing now targets an 82‑passenger Saint Helena–Johannesburg flight, and Dutch carrier KLM says a flight attendant is being tested in Amsterdam.
  • Several sick travelers were evacuated for care in the Netherlands and Switzerland, while U.S., U.K., and Argentine authorities monitor exposed passengers and probe a possible source in Ushuaia.