WHO reports 11 cases tied to MV Hondius hantavirus outbreak, Andes virus sequencing suggests onboard transmission, repatriation flights and a skeleton crew underpin containment

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WHO counts 11 hantavirus-linked cases tied to MV Hondius, passengers repatriated as Andes virus shows signs of onboard spread, cruise logistics become the containment plan

The World Health Organization has reported 11 cases linked to a hantavirus outbreak associated with the Dutch-flagged expedition cruise ship MV Hondius, according to an update cited by BNO News. The tally includes three deaths, with eight cases laboratory-confirmed as Andes virus infections, two classified as probable and one described as inconclusive pending further testing. WHO said the overall risk to the global population remains low, while assessing the risk to people who were on board the ship as moderate.

The update adds geographic scatter that is typical once passengers disperse. BNO News reports two additional confirmed cases in France and Spain, and one inconclusive case in the United States; all were passengers from the ship. The French case became symptomatic during repatriation, the Spanish case tested positive after arrival but was described as well and asymptomatic, and the US case had one positive and one negative test result from two different laboratories. WHO said the US passenger was tested because of high-risk exposure to confirmed cases on board.

WHO’s working hypothesis is that the first case acquired the infection before boarding, likely through exposure on land, with investigators collaborating with authorities in Argentina and Chile to identify the source, according to BNO News. What changed after embarkation is the pattern of transmission. WHO’s current evidence suggests person-to-person spread occurred on board, and preliminary genetic sequencing found virus samples from different cases to be closely related and nearly identical. Andes virus is the only hantavirus known to spread between people in some circumstances, typically among close contacts after prolonged exposure; a ship compresses that exposure into shared corridors, cabins and indoor spaces.

The outbreak was first reported to WHO on May 2 after a cluster of severe respiratory illness that included two deaths and one critically ill passenger, BNO News reports. Contact tracing is continuing for passengers who disembarked in Saint Helena on April 24, in Praia in Cabo Verde on May 6, and in Tenerife on May 10 and 11. WHO said passengers who were on flights with people later confirmed to have the virus have been identified and contacted, a reminder that the transmission network is partly built by airline seating charts.

Containment has leaned on transport control as much as medicine. According to BNO News, passengers and most crew were repatriated on specially arranged non-commercial flights after the ship arrived in the Canary Islands on May 10, and the MV Hondius left on May 11. The ship is now sailing to the Netherlands with 25 crew members still on board, accompanied by two Dutch health and care workers to monitor the crew and provide medical care if needed.

WHO expects additional cases may occur among people exposed before containment measures were implemented, but said quarantine, contact monitoring and rapid isolation of suspected cases should limit further spread, BNO News reports. The operational picture is a vessel emptied by chartered flights, a reduced crew under medical supervision, and a growing list of passengers being followed up across borders.

As of the latest WHO update, the ship is no longer in the Canary Islands and the case count is being updated country by country. Two health workers are on board for 25 crew members while the evidence trail is built from lab results and passenger manifests.