The Foreign Office has warned British travellers that hantavirus is now a health concern in Argentina and it has added the virus to its travel advice for people heading to the nation in South America.
It comes as the World Health Organisation (WHO) has said there are now five confirmed cases in the outbreak on the MV Hondius cruise, which set sail from Argentina on 1 April. Three people have died either on board the vessel or after travelling on it.
Tedros Ghebreyesus, director-general of WHO, said eight cases of the virus have been reported, with five confirmed and three suspected.
Although none of the passengers or crew currently on board are symptomatic, Dr Ghebreyesus warned more cases may be identified given the incubation period of the virus, which can be up to six weeks, but said the public health risk is low.
Additionally, four British nationals remain in overseas territory St Helena after disembarking the cruise on the tiny island in the South Atlantic Ocean.
Seven British people got off the vessel there last month, before the hantavirus outbreak was announced, and two have returned to the UK to isolate, while the seventh individual has also been contacted and is not currently in the UK.
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Key Points
- 'This is not covid', WHO says
- ‘No idea how long I’ll be in hospital’, British hantavirus patient says
- Two people told to self-isolate in the UK after returning from cruise
- Risk to UK public remains very low, health authorities emphasise
- Passengers may have to isolate for up to 45 days
Authorities seek to trace passengers who disembarked before outbreak was detected
04:30 , Dan HaygarthCountries worldwide sought to prevent further spread of the hantavirus on Thursday, after an outbreak on a cruise ship, by tracking those who had disembarked before the virus was detected and anyone in close contact with them since.
Three people - a Dutch couple and a German national - died in the outbreak on the MV Hondius. In total, five people are confirmed to have contracted the virus, with another three suspected cases, the World Health Organisation said.
Hantavirus is usually spread by rodents but can in rare cases be transmitted person-to-person.
All passengers who disembarked in St. Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean, where the ship made a stop on April 24, have been contacted, the ship's operator said. This included people from at least 12 countries, among them seven British citizens and six from the US.
The first confirmed case of hantavirus in this outbreak came in early May.
Authorities seek to trace passengers who disembarked before outbreak was detected
03:50 , Dan HaygarthCountries worldwide sought to prevent further spread of the hantavirus on Thursday, after an outbreak on a cruise ship, by tracking those who had disembarked before the virus was detected and anyone in close contact with them since.
Three people - a Dutch couple and a German national - died in the outbreak on the MV Hondius. In total, five people are confirmed to have contracted the virus, with another three suspected cases, the World Health Organisation said.
Hantavirus is usually spread by rodents but can in rare cases be transmitted person-to-person.
All passengers who disembarked in St. Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean, where the ship made a stop on April 24, have been contacted, the ship's operator said. This included people from at least 12 countries, among them seven British citizens and six from the US.
The first confirmed case of hantavirus in this outbreak came in early May.
Watch: Spanish officials give hantavirus update as ship set to dock in days
03:30 , Dan Haygarth‘Good news’ on Britons in hospital after cruise ship hantavirus outbreak – WHO
02:30 , Dan HaygarthTwo Britons who were medically evacuated from a hantavirus-hit cruise ship are improving, global health officials have said.
A British passenger, understood to be a 69-year-old man, was taken to South Africa on April 27 and is receiving care at a private health facility in Sandton, Johannesburg.
Another Briton, Martin Anstee, 56, was taken off the MV Hondius on Wednesday and flown to the Netherlands to receive specialist medical care.
Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, from the World Health Organisation (WHO), said two patients – known to include a Briton – remain in hospital in the Netherlands, and another Briton is in intensive care in South Africa.
Read more:
‘Good news’ on Britons in hospital after cruise ship hantavirus outbreak – WHO
The illness starts with flu-like symptoms
01:30 , Dan HaygarthAn infection can rapidly progress and become life-threatening. Experts say it can start with symptoms including fever, chills, muscle aches and maybe a headache — much like the flu.
Symptoms of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome usually show between one and eight weeks after contact with an infected rodent. As the infection progresses, patients might experience tightness in the chest, as the lungs fill with fluid.
The other syndrome caused by hantavirus — known as hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome, which can cause bleeding, high fever, and kidney failure — usually develops within a week or two after exposure.
Hantavirus is giving me Covid flashbacks – so how worried should I be?
00:30 , Dan HaygarthThe sight of people in hazmat suits alongside phrases like ‘self-isolation’ dominating the airwaves is bringing back troubling memories for Katie Rosseinsky, who considers whether we should all start stocking up on toilet roll.
Hantavirus is giving me Covid flashbacks – so how worried should I be?
Recap: Four British cruise passengers still on St Helena after disembarking cruise
23:30 , Daniel HaygarthFour British nationals remain in British overseas territory St Helena after disembarking the MV Hondius cruise at the tiny island in the South Atlantic Ocean.
Seven British people got off the vessel there last month, before the hantavirus outbreak was announced, and two have returned to the UK to isolate.
Four remain, where their contact is being managed, and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) have contacted the seventh person, who is not in the UK.
A UKHSA spokesperson told The Independent: “We are aware of seven British Nationals who disembarked the ship at St Helena on 24 April.
“Two of these individuals are now self-isolating in the UK while the others have not yet returned.
“Four of these individuals remain in St Helena and we are in touch with the relevant health officials to provide advice on contact management.
“The seventh individual has also been contacted and is not currently in the UK.”
On Wednesday, the UKHSA said the remaining British nationals on board can now be repatriated once the ship docks at its next destination if they do not develop symptoms. None of the British citizens onboard are currently reporting symptoms but they are being closely monitored.
'Most people will never be exposed to this'
22:30 , Daniel HaygarthGlobal health officials say the risk to the general public remains low because the germ does not easily spread between people.
"This is not the next COVID, but it is a serious infectious disease," said Maria Van Kerkhove, director of epidemic and pandemic preparedness at the World Health Organization. "Most people will never be exposed to this."
The virus usually spreads when people inhale contaminated residue of rodent droppings. Hantaviruses have been around for centuries and are thought to exist around the world.
Watch: WHO reacts to fears of a COVID-style hantavirus pandemic
21:30 , Dan Haygarth'This is not covid'
21:21 , Dan HaygarthThe WHO repeated that the risk to the general public was "low" even if the Andean strain of the virus, found in several victims, can in rare cases be transmitted among humans.
"This is not coronavirus, this is a very different virus," Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO director of epidemic and pandemic management, told a press conference.
"This is not the same situation we were in six years ago."
The WHO said it was working on step-by-step guidance for when the dozens of passengers remaining on the ship, which is sailing to the Canary Islands, arrives there on Saturday or Sunday and the passengers disembark and travel home.
None of these passengers currently have any symptoms.
Argentine government’s hypothesis is that a Dutch couple contracted the virus while birdwatching
20:42 , Dan HaygarthThe Associated Press reported the Argentine government’s hypothesis is that a Dutch couple contracted the virus during a birdwatching outing in the city of Ushuaia before boarding.
Two Argentine officials told the news agency that the couple visited a landfill during the birdwatching tour where they may have been exposed to rodents carrying the infection.
Argentine investigators tasked with analysing rodents at the landfill site to see if they carry the Andes strain of the hantavirus, that has been identified in the outbreak on the cruise ship, are yet to leave for Ushuaia, but plan to travel there “in the coming days”, AP reported.
Passengers were confined to their cabins while “disinfection and other public health measures are carried out”, the WHO said on Tuesday.
Risk to public is low but there could be more cases, WHO says
20:15 , Dan HaygarthWhile the risk to the public is low, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the WHO, said there could be more cases due to the incubation period of the Andes virus – the variant of hantavirus linked to the outbreak.
“Given the incubation period of the Andes virus, which can be up to six weeks, it’s possible that more cases may be reported,” he said.
“While this is a serious incident, WHO assesses the public health risk as low.”
He added: “I would also like to thank the ship’s operator for its co-operation, and the passengers and crew who are going through a very difficult and frightening situation.
“I’ve been in touch with the ship’s captain regularly, including this morning. He told me morale has improved significantly since the ship started moving again.”
The WHO is not expecting the outbreak to be an epidemic, according to Dr Abdirahman Mahamud, director at the alert and response co-ordination department.
He highlighted a similar outbreak in Argentina in 2018/19 which led to 34 cases.
'Higher risk contacts' in St Helena told to isolate for 45 days
20:07 , Dan HaygarthAuthorities in St Helena, the remote, volcanic British territory in the South Atlantic where passengers got off, said they were monitoring a small number of people who were considered "higher risk contacts."
Those higher risk contacts were being told to isolate for 45 days, the St. Helena government said.
Watch: WHO warn six week incubation period could mean further hantavirus cases reported
19:45 , Dan HaygarthWatch; Spanish officials give hantavirus update as ship set to dock in days
19:30 , Dan HaygarthRecap: ‘Good news’ on Britons in hospital after cruise ship hantavirus outbreak – WHO
19:15 , Dan HaygarthTwo Britons who were medically evacuated from a hantavirus-hit cruise ship are improving, global health officials have said.
A British passenger, understood to be a 69-year-old man, was taken to South Africa on April 27 and is receiving care at a private health facility in Sandton, Johannesburg.
Another Briton, Martin Anstee, 56, was taken off the MV Hondius on Wednesday and flown to the Netherlands to receive specialist medical care.
Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, from the World Health Organisation (WHO), said two patients – known to include a Briton – remain in hospital in the Netherlands, and another Briton is in intensive care in South Africa.
She told a WHO press briefing: “I am very happy to say the patient in South Africa is doing better, and the two patients in the Netherlands we hear are stable. So that is actually very good news.”
South Africa is tracing contacts from an April 25 flight
19:00 , Dan HaygarthThe Dutch health ministry said Thursday that a flight attendant on a plane briefly boarded by an infected cruise passenger in South Africa was showing symptoms of hantavirus and would be tested in an isolation ward at a hospital in Amsterdam.
The cruise passenger, also a Dutch woman, was too ill to fly and was taken off the plane in Johannesburg, where she died.
If the woman tests positive, she could be the first known person not on the MV Hondius to become infected in the outbreak.
The vessel is now sailing to Spain's Canary Islands, where it is expected to arrive on Saturday or Sunday, with more than 140 passengers and crew members still on board.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Thursday that he had been in regular touch with the ship's captain, and that morale improved once it began moving again.
Authorities in South Africa are also trying to trace contacts of any passengers who previously got off the ship.
They have focused mainly on an 25 April flight from St. Helena to Johannesburg, the day after passengers disembarked there.
What is hantavirus? Symptoms you need to know after deadly cruise ship outbreak
18:45 , Dan Haygarth
What is hantavirus? Symptoms you need to know after deadly cruise ship outbreak
Experts will stay on board until Canary Islands
18:15 , Dan HaygarthDr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organisation (WHO), said that experts from WHO and the European Centre for Disease Control joined the MV Hondius in Cape Verde and will stay aboard until it reaches the Canary Islands.
He also told a press briefing that morale has improved on board since the ship left Cape Verde.
“I would also like to thank the ship’s operator for its co-operation, and the passengers and crew who are going through a very difficult and frightening situation,” he said.
“I’ve been in touch with the ship’s captain regularly, including this morning.
“He told me morale has improved significantly since the ship started moving again.”
Hantavirus added as a health concern on Foreign Office's Argentina page
17:50 , Dan HaygarthIt links to Travel Health Pro, which says: “Between 1 January and 28 March 2026, 32 confirmed cases of hantavirus infection and eight deaths have been reported.
“Cases have been reported in the following provinces: Buenos Aires, Salta, Chubut, Río Negro, Entre Ríos and Jujuy.”
On 1 April, 114 guests boarded MV Hondius in Ushuaia, Argentina.
Patients 'doing better' and 'stable'
17:45 , Daniel HaygarthDr Maria Van Kerkhove, director of the department of epidemic and pandemic threat management at the World Health Organisation (WHO) described how two patients – known to include a Briton – remain in hospital in the Netherlands, while a Briton is in intensive care in South Africa.
She told a WHO press briefing earlier today: “And I am very happy to say the patient in South Africa is doing better, and the two patients in the Netherlands we hear are stable. So that is actually very good news.”
Four British cruise passengers still on St Helena after disembarking cruise
17:45 , Dan HaygarthFour British nationals remain in British overseas territory St Helena after disembarking the MV Hondius cruise at the tiny island in the South Atlantic Ocean.
Seven British people got off the vessel there last month, before the hantavirus outbreak was announced, and two have returned to the UK to isolate.
Four remain, where their contact is being managed, and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) have contacted the seventh person, who is not in the UK
A UKHSA spokesperson told The Independent: “We are aware of seven British Nationals who disembarked the ship at St Helena on 24 April.
“Two of these individuals are now self-isolating in the UK while the others have not yet returned.
“Four of these individuals remain in St Helena and we are in touch with the relevant health officials to provide advice on contact management.
“The seventh individual has also been contacted and is not currently in the UK.”
On Wednesday, the UKHSA said the remaining British nationals on board can now be repatriated once the ship docks at its next destination if they do not develop symptoms. None of the British citizens onboard are currently reporting symptoms but they are being closely monitored.
WHO working with all of the countries who have passengers on board
17:15 , Dan HaygarthThe World Health Organisation (WHO) is working with all of the countries who have passengers on board the MV Hondius on plans for their passage home.
Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, director of the department of epidemic and pandemic threat management at the WHO, said: “We are working with all of the countries who have nationalities that are on board to discuss the plans for the safe journey of those patients home, once they disembark, once they’re medically evaluated, what those decisions will be.
“It needs to be very carefully done, but we are working with the countries about that onward passage home.”
She said the WHO is also working with the ship’s operator on plans for its crew.
“We also have crew from many different countries, and everyone involved, all of the governments, the ship’s operators, want to make sure that they get home safely, not only minimising their own risk, but any risk to others,” Dr Van Kerkhove said.
Recap: Five cases confirmed
17:01 , Daniel HaygarthFive of the eight suspected cases of hantavirus linked to the MV Hondius cruise ship have now been confirmed, the World Health Organization said at a press briefing earlier on Thursday.
The wider public health threat from the outbreak remained low, Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, adding that the WHO was aware of reports of other patients and there may be more cases due to the long incubation period of the virus.
'They will be completely isolated from the public'
16:54 , Dan HaygarthSpain's head of civil protection Virginia Barcones says people evacuated from the boat will be “completely isolated from public.”
She has told a press conference: "From the moment when we see that asymptomatic people are ready to be evacuated from our country, there will be a quick process.
"They will not leave the boat until the plane is there to take them to their countries. Once they leave the boat, they will be taken by road, it's about a 10-minute drive."
She adds: "Mechanisms are being put together, but they will be completely isolated from the public.
"They will be taken to an isolated fenced off place, they will be in isolated vehicles, they will reach an area of the airport that will be completely isolated.
"There is no possibility of contact."
Ship to be inspected when it arrives in Canary Islands
16:51 , Dan HaygarthPedro Gullon, general director of public health and equity in Spain, has just told a press conference that the ship will be inspected when it arrives in the Canary Islands.
He said: "Then we are in touch with doctors on board so we get a daily update on everything that's happening on the boat.
"Once we know what's going on, if there are no new cases, we can proceed to take people to their place of origin."
Two test negative as Dutch authorities probe possible hantavirus exposure on plane
16:48 , Dan HaygarthThe Netherlands' National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) said on Thursday it had tested three people showing symptoms for the Andes strain of hantavirus, Reuters reports.
Two tested negative, while the third result was still being analysed.
RIVM said all three developed symptoms after coming into contact with a person infected with the virus while aboard an aircraft, and that it would continue to monitor them.
Dozens of passengers left hantavirus-stricken cruise ship after first fatality
16:46 , Dan HaygarthMore than two dozen passengers from at least 12 different countries left the cruise ship hit by a deadly hantavirus outbreak without contact tracing nearly two weeks after the first passenger died on board, the ship operator and Dutch officials said Thursday.
Health authorities on at least four continents are now tracking down and in some cases monitoring the cruise passengers who returned home on 24 April, and trying to trace others who may have come into contact with them.
Experts say the risk to the wider public is considered low because hantavirus — usually spread by the inhalation of contaminated rodent droppings — isn't easily transmitted between people.
The Dutch health ministry said Thursday that a flight attendant on a plane briefly boarded by an infected cruise passenger in South Africa was showing symptoms of hantavirus and would be tested in an isolation ward at a hospital in Amsterdam. The cruise passenger, also a Dutch woman, was too ill to fly and was taken off the plane in Johannesburg, where she died.
If the woman tests positive, she could be the first known person not on the MV Hondius to become infected in the outbreak.
Three cruise ship passengers have died in the outbreak, and several others are sick. Symptoms usually show between one and eight weeks after exposure.
Watch: WHO investigate past movements of birdwatching couple linked to hantavirus outbreak
16:45 , Dan Haygarth'This is not covid', WHO says
16:43 , Dan HaygarthThe WHO repeated that the risk to the general public was "low" even if the Andean strain of the virus, found in several victims, can in rare cases be transmitted among humans.
"This is not coronavirus, this is a very different virus," Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO director of epidemic and pandemic management, told a press conference.
"This is not the same situation we were in six years ago." The WHO said it was working on step-by-step guidance for when the dozens of passengers remaining on the ship, which is sailing to the Canary Islands, arrives there on Saturday or Sunday and the passengers disembark and travel home.
None of these passengers currently have any symptoms.
Threat from hantavirus for general public 'remains low'
16:15 , Rebecca WhittakerHealth chiefs continue to stress that the overall threat to the public from hantavirus remains low.
Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, director of the department of epidemic and pandemic threat management at the WHO, said: “The risk to the general public is low.
“Hantaviruses are relatively uncommon, even though there may be thousands of cases estimated each year.”
Deadly hantavirus cruise ship outbreak caused by couple’s birdwatching trip to landfill site, experts fear
16:05 , Rebecca WhittakerThe deadly outbreak of hantavirus on a cruise ship may have been caused by a Dutch couple contracting the illness during a bird-watching outing in Ushuaia, Argentina, health officials fear.
Two Argentine officials investigating the origins of the outbreak on the ship, which sailed from southern Argentina, said this is now the government’s leading hypothesis.
The couple visited a landfill site during the birdwatching tour, authorities said, where they may have been exposed to rodents carrying the infection. Authorities previously said that Ushuaia and the surrounding province of Tierra del Fuego had never recorded a case of the hantavirus.
Read more here:
Hantavirus cruise ship outbreak ‘possibly caused by couple’s birdwatching trip’
'Good news' on patient in hospital with hantavirus
15:52 , Rebecca WhittakerTwo Britons who were medically evacuated from a hantavirus-hit cruise ship are improving, global health officials have said.
A British passenger, understood to be a 69-year-old man, was taken to South Africa on April 27 and is receiving care at a private health facility in Sandton, Johannesburg.
Another Briton, Martin Anstee, 56, was taken off the MV Hondius on Wednesday and flown to the Netherlands to receive specialist medical care.
Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, from the World Health Organisation (WHO), said two patients – known to include a Briton – remain in hospital in the Netherlands, and another Briton is in intensive care in South Africa.
She told a WHO press briefing: “I am very happy to say the patient in South Africa is doing better, and the two patients in the Netherlands we hear are stable. So that is actually very good news.”
Watch: WHO warn six week incubation period could mean further hantavirus cases reported
15:45 , Rebecca Whittaker'Moral has improved significantly since the ship started moving again,' ship captain says
15:40 , Rebecca WhittakerThe captain of the MV Hondius, which was hit by hantavirus, said “moral has improved significantly since the ship started moving again,” speaking with Tedros Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization.
Dr Ghebreyesus said: “I have been in touch with the ship’s captain regularly, including this morning. He told me morale has improved significantly since the ship started moving again. I thank him for everything he has done to protect those under his duty of care.”
He thanked the ships operator for its cooperation and the passengers and crew “going through a very difficult and frightening situation.”
“And I would also like to thank the ship’s operator for its cooperation, and the passengers and crew who are going through a very difficult and frightening situation.
— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) May 7, 2026
I have been in touch with the ship’s captain regularly, including this morning. He told me morale has improved…
Hantavirus spreads 'very differently' to Covid, WHO says
15:33 , Rebecca WhittakerThe World Health Organisation (WHO) has stressed that hantavirus is not like Covid or the flu and spreads “very differently”.
"Those who develop symptoms, those who go on to develop disease sometimes develop very severe disease, which includes severe respiratory disease," Dr Maria van Kerkhove said.
"There may be some coughing, there may be some aerosolised procedures that may be done, of course, that's where we would require higher level of care.
"This is not Covid, this is not influenza, it spreads very, very differently."
Health chiefs race to contain hantavirus as two cruise ship passengers forced to self-isolate in UK
15:30 , Rebecca Whittaker
Health chiefs race to contain hantavirus as two people forced to self-isolate in UK
South Africa are 'taking the lead' on contact tracing, according to WHO
15:23 , Rebecca WhittakerThe World Health Organisation (WHO) is working with health authorities in South Africa to trace contacts of the two cases of hantavirus in the country, which includes one Briton who is still in intensive care there.
Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, director of the department of epidemic and pandemic threat management at the WHO, said: “There have been two confirmed cases in South Africa.
“One was the second case that was identified, the contact the wife of the first case, who sadly passed away. And then there is another case that is currently in ICU in South Africa, and this person is doing better as we understand.”
She said authorities in South Africa are “taking the lead” on contact tracing.
“Not only have they identified the passengers and are following up from the flight, but they’re also following up any contacts for people who attended to the woman who passed away, who went through the airport, people medically caring for the man who is in ICU.”
Dr Van Kerkhove said testing on contacts in South Africa have so far come back negative.
Watch: WHO investigate past movements of birdwatching couple linked to hantavirus outbreak
15:21 , Rebecca WhittakerHantavirus outbreak is not 'expected to be an epidemic', WHO says
15:20 , Rebecca WhittakerThe outbreak of hantavirus linked to the MV Hondius is not expected to be an epidemic, health officials have said.
Dr Abdirahman Mahamud, director at the alert and response co-ordination department of the World Health Organisation’s Emergencies Health Programme, highlighted a similar outbreak in Argentina in 2018/19 which led to 34 cases.
He said: “If we follow public health measures, and the lessons we learned from Argentina are shared across all countries… we can break this chain of transmission and this doesn’t need to be a large epidemic.”
Dr Mahamud added: “We don’t anticipate a large epidemic. With experience our member states have, and the actions they have taken, we believe that this will not lead to subsequent chain of transmission.”
UK first sounded the alarm about the hantavirus outbreak
15:14 , Rebecca WhittakerThe UK was the first to sound the alarm about the hantavirus outbreak, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organisation (WHO) said.
Dr Tedros said: “Last Saturday, the United Kingdom notified WHO, under the International Health Regulations, of a cluster of passengers with severe respiratory illness on a Dutch-flagged cruise ship the MV Hondius, which had travelled from Argentina to Cape Verde.
“So far, eight cases have been reported, including three deaths.
“Five of the eight cases have been confirmed as hantavirus, and the other three are suspected.”
He said that it is possible that more cases may be identified given the incubation period of the virus.
“Given the incubation period of the Andes Virus, which can be up to six weeks, it’s possible that more cases may be reported,” he said.
“While this is a serious incident, WHO assesses the public health risk low.”
First time there has been a hantavirus outbreak on a ship, WHO says
15:11 , Rebecca WhittakerThe World Health Organisation believes this is the first case of hantavirus being spread between passengers on boat, but reassured that there is no further indication of anything “unusual”.
"What is most unusual is that we have a transmission on a boat, which I think is the first documented to date with this particular virus," public health officer Anais Legand said.
"A boat makes it a very specific environment for which we want to make sure that we have a good understanding on how the transmission has happened, and most importantly, to strengthen all the measures that my colleagues developed.
"There is no indication to date that there is something further unusual, but obviously the fact that it happened on a cruise ship with people from different nationalities and is something we haven't seen before."
Virus passed between patient and medical doctor, WHO says
14:56 , Rebecca WhittakerThe World Health Organization has urged those caring for people with suspected hantavirus to wear “protective equipment”.
In previous outbreaks of hantavirus there have been human to human transmission mainly among close contacts either providing clinical care or people who have been in close physical contact.
Dr Maria van Kerkhove, technical consultant for WHO said: “We believe this has happened here on the ship as well between the couple, the first and second cases, and also a medical doctor providing care.”
She added that in addition to disinfecting the cabins on the ship and isolating, people have also been asked to wear a mask when leaving their rooms.
“We have no symptomatic passengers or crew on board, which is a good sign, but of course there is a long incubation period of the Andes virus,” Dr van Kerkhove reassured.
Head of WHO says the hantavirus outbreak is a 'serious incident'
14:37 , Rebecca Whittaker“This is a serious incident, WHO assesses the public health risk as low,” Tedros Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization, has said.
“Our priority is to make sure the affected patients receive care, that the remaining passengers on the ship are kept safe and treated with dignity and to prevent any further spread of the virus.”
“All passengers have been asked to stay in their cabins, the cabins have been disinfected and anyone who shows symptoms will be isolated immediately.”
Five confirmed hantavirus cases, WHO says
14:31 , Rebecca WhittakerThere are now five confirmed cases of hantavirus in the outbreak, with eight reported cases and three deaths, the head of the World Health Organisation has said.
Tedros Ghebreyesus said all passengers have been told to stay in their cabins and two doctors will stay on board, to conduct tests, until the ship reaches the Canary Islands.
World Health Organisation briefing expected
14:07 , Dan HaygarthA press conference is expected to begin imminently.
Recap: Oceanwide Expeditions statement
13:45 , Dan HaygarthTour operator Oceanwide Expeditions said in a statement: “On 1 April 2026, 114 guests boarded MV Hondius in Ushuaia, Argentina.
“30 guests disembarked MV Hondius on Saint Helena on 24 April 2026.
“This number includes the body of the guest who passed away on board MV Hondius on 11 April 2026.”
The 30 people who disembarked were from 12 nations, including seven Britons.
Oceanwide Expeditions said guests who disembarked have been contacted.
