How a birdwatching couple might have sparked killer hantavirus cruise ship outbreak

WorldHealth & Fitness
7 May 2026 • 9:55 PM MYT
The Independent
The Independent

The world’s most free-thinking newspaper

How a birdwatching couple might have sparked killer hantavirus cruise ship outbreak

  • Health officials suspect a deadly outbreak on a cruise ship may have originated from a Dutch couple contracting the illness during a bird-watching trip in Ushuaia, Argentina.
  • The couple reportedly visited a landfill site in Ushuaia, where they might have been exposed to rodents carrying the infection, despite the region never previously recording a Hantavirus case.
  • The World Health Organisation has linked eight suspected cases of Hantavirus to the ship, with five of these cases officially confirmed.
  • The cruise ship, MV Hondius, was blocked from docking in Tenerife but has since departed for the Canary Islands, where its almost 150 passengers will disembark.
  • Two individuals who returned to the UK from the affected ship have been asked to self-isolate, though neither has reported symptoms, and the UK Health Security Agency states the risk to the general public remains very low.

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