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WHO says human hantavirus spread 'possible' after cruise ship cases

scienceMay 13, 202623542

The World Health Organization warned person-to-person transmission of hantavirus is possible after 11 cases linked to the Dutch cruise ship MV Hondius, including nine confirmed, two probable, and three deaths. Health authorities identified the causative virus as the Andes strain, which has documented rare human-to-human spread, and all passengers have been disembarked and placed under monitoring. At least one patient is critically ill and receiving advanced respiratory support, underscoring the severity of some infections. The WHO warning increases urgency for contact tracing, quarantine measures and intensified ICU preparedness in countries receiving former passengers.

NPR
@npr.org

A French woman infected in the deadly hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship is critically ill and being treated with an artificial lung. The outbreak has now reached 11 total reported cases, 9 of which have been confirmed. n.pr/42rWhB4

1293h ago
Cub Green7

Hantavirus has been in southwest USA for many years. It can kill you, but you can wear a P100 gas mask when cleaning areas where mice have been and be OK. This Andes strain seems scarier. I’m hoping we can get some very detailed info soon. CDC in USA is no longer a trusted source. 😔

Annie3

Chapter 1,000,000 of another shit show under trump & his regime.

Therefore Review 📀✌🏻🍿2

Good thing RFK Jr fired all those people who could have helped with the cruise ship healthcare! What a moron.

Denis - The COVID Info Guy
@thecovidinfoguy.bsky.social

12 hospital staff in the Netherlands are now in precautionary quarantine after treating a hantavirus-positive passenger from the MV Hondius cruise ship. Reports say mistakes were made handling blood samples and disposing of urine. Source: archive.md/QQeIE

An article from The Straits Times, published via Reuters on May 12, 2026, features a large photograph of Radboudumc hospital. Article Text • Headline: "Staff at Dutch hospital with hantavirus patient quarantined after procedural errors" • Caption: "Procedural errors were made in taking blood and disposing of the patient’s urine, said the Radboud University Hospital in the east of the country in a statement." Main Photograph • Setting: A large, modern, multi-story white hospital building labeled "Radboudumc" sits behind a manicured green grass lawn under a cloudy sky. • Architecture: The building features a symmetrical grid pattern of numerous tall, rectangular windows.
1108h ago
Eddie9

So nothing learnt about pandemics

Maggie Astor
@maggieastor.bsky.social

I've deleted my post reacting to the Guardian report that an MV Hondius passenger with hantavirus had been told she was just anxious, because the Guardian has retracted the article:

This article, headlined “French woman was told by doctors hantavirus symptoms were just anxiety”, was removed on 12 May 2026 after the Guardian was notified of a fundamental misunderstanding of remarks from Javier Padilla Bernáldez. The Spanish health secretary had been describing a separate case involving a person who was not confirmed to have hantavirus, not the French woman who had tested positive after evacuation from the ship.
5322h ago
CIDRAP
@cidrap.bsky.social

Hantavirus outbreak grows to 11 cases, 9 confirmed So far no cases have been identified in anyone other than passengers on the Dutch cruise ship. Read more: ow.ly/8quR50YYtoT 📷: AcfiPress Noticias Canarias, CC BY 4.0/Wikimedia Commons

Image of mv hondius
4014h ago
WHO
@who.int

3️⃣ Passengers and crew are being followed up in their countries, where WHO recommends a 42-day quarantine at home or in a facility starting from day of departure from the ship. WHO Technical Note for the disembarkation & onward management of MV Hondius passengers & crew bit.ly/4u1BT5I #hantavirus

4620h ago
Chris Steller
@chrissteller.bsky.social

One person in Minnesota may have briefly been exposed overseas to someone who was on board the MV Hondius cruise and tested positive for hantavirus (Andes virus)

Statement on monitoring a person potentially exposed to hantavirus overseas The Minnesota Department of Health issued this statement today about monitoring a person who was potentially exposed to hantavirus overseas. Health risk to the public remains very low. The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) is monitoring one person in Minnesota who may have briefly been exposed overseas to someone who was on board the MV Hondius cruise and tested positive for hantavirus (Andes virus). We want to emphasize that the risk to the public remains very low. MDH is in contact with the person who was exposed. They have been very cooperative, and we are monitoring them daily for symptoms. The person does not currently have symptoms. MDH will not release any additional information on the person to protect their privacy. Hantaviruses are a known group of viruses carried by rodents which can spread to people and make them very sick. The Andes virus is the only type of hantavirus known to spread from person to person; however, person-to-person spread is usually limited to people who have close contact with an infected person with symptoms. Hantavirus has been in the news a lot lately, and we understand that news of a person being monitored in Minnesota may raise concerns. We are working closely with our partners in local public health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and healthcare. We recognize things may change over time and will stay in touch with our partners to share additional information as needed. More information on hantavirus can be found on the MDH Hantavirus website and CDC’s About Hantavirus website.
2514h ago
Jene10

Are they, uh, quarantined in the meantime?

Chris Steller8

So we're not at the "Minneapolis scene in the movie 'Contagion'" stage

ianVG6

so I've got a good friend who's a doctor of Microbiology and Immunology and apparently this isn't, and is almost impossible to be, anything close to COVID. supposedly it is both not novel and it has a low very low r number. just wanted to share that if that helps calm nerves (like it did for me)

Disco3

Man, that's a local angle that takes me back www.pbs.org/newshour/hea...

MPR News
@mprnews.org

Minnesota health officials are monitoring a resident who may have been exposed to hantavirus linked to a cruise ship outbreak, though the person is not showing symptoms and officials say public risk remains very low.

2212h ago
AvGeeknologist
@avgeeknologist.bsky.social

FPV footage: Army specialist team parachuting into Tristan da Cunha to provide medical supplies linked to a possible Hantavirus case (MV Hondius visited Tristan da Cunha). Looks fun.😁 (UK MoD)

1514h ago
Kansas Reflector
@kansasreflector.com

Three Kansans being monitored for hantavirus after contact with infected cruise ship passenger | via @crazeywriter.bsky.social #ksleg

1512h ago
Marc Veldhoen
@marcveld.bsky.social

The WHO has reported 11 total cases (9 confirmed, 2 probable) and 3 deaths linked to a deadly Andes strain hantavirus outbreak aboard the Dutch cruise ship MV Hondius. All passengers are off the ship, in quarantine and being monitored. All cases are from the same source and the cruise ship.

103h ago
Jack Cousteau ⚓️
@angrywaterman.bsky.social

All 22 people identified in France as contact cases of the Dutch passenger of the cruise ship MV Hondius who died of hantavirus, are "currently hospitalized," the Ministry of Health announced on Wednesday.

92h ago
Governor Josh Stein
@ncgovernor.bsky.social

Update on Hantavirus: One person from North Carolina was onboard the MV Hondius and evacuated with all US passengers to the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s National Quarantine Unit. There are no current cases in North Carolina, and risk of infection across the state remains low...

1419h ago
Le Monde
@lemonde.fr

EN DIRECT, hantavirus : une ex-passagère française du MV « Hondius » en réanimation à Paris dans un « état grave »

88h ago
Social Media Lab
@socialmedialab.ca

"The head of the World Health Organization has told countries to prepare for more hantavirus cases after the outbreak onboard the MV Hondius, and thanked Spain for the “compassion and solidarity” it had shown by taking in the stricken cruise ship and evacuating its passengers and crew."

919h ago
Lawrence
@ldog562.bsky.social

11 hantavirus cases now tied to cruise ship, including 3 dead. www.youtube.com/watch?v=0y3Z...

613h ago
2 sources
irishmirror.ieWHO chief says Hantavirus spread 'possible' but 'no signs of outbreak'ntv.caProvince monitoring Hantavirus concerns following cruise ship outbreak

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