Hantavirus outbreak on cruise ship not start of pandemic, UN health agency says

BBC ^ | May 7, 2026 | Amy Walkerand Jaroslav Lukiv

[E. Pluribus Unum]

An outbreak of hantavirus on board a cruise ship is not the start of a pandemic, the UN health agency has said.

Maria van Kerkhove, an infectious disease epidemiologist at the World Health Organization (WHO), told a news briefing that it was not the same situation as six years ago with Covid-19, because hantavirus spreads through "close, intimate contact".

Health authorities are racing to trace dozens of people who have recently disembarked from the Dutch vessel MV Hondius.

On Thursday, the WHO said that overall, five of eight suspected cases of hantavirus had been confirmed. Three people have died, including a 69-year-old Dutch woman, who had the virus.

Her Dutch husband and a German woman also died, and their cases are being investigated.

Hantavirus typically spreads from rodents - but in the latest outbreak the transmission between people was documented for the first time, the WHO said.

The luxury cruise, operated by Oceanwide Expeditions, began its journey on 1 April in Ushuaia, Argentina, and is expected to arrive in Spain's Canary Islands on 10 May.

About 150 passengers and crew from 28 countries are reported to have initially been aboard the vessel, but dozens disembarked on the island of St Helena on 24 April. How worried should we be about hantavirus?

At Thursday's news briefing, van Kerkhove said "this is not Covid, this is not influenza, it spreads very, very differently".

She said authorities had asked "everyone to wear a mask" on board the MV Hondius.

Those in contact with or caring for suspected cases, she added, should "wear a higher level of personal protective equipment".

At the same briefing, WHO Director General Tedros Ghebreyesus said his organisation "assesses the public health risk as low".

He said the first two people with the confirmed virus had "travelled through Argentina, Chile...

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TOPICS: Health/Medicine
KEYWORDS: cruiseship; hantavirus; who

[blackdog]

It’s not close enough to election time yet.

[rktman]

😂😂😂😂 u.n. health agency. Could they get a bump from u.k. nhs? Fidiots!

[xp38]

Now I’m worried.

[madison10]

Good, because most of us will ignore you (UN) anyway. Fool me once.

[frank ballenger]

Paging Fauci....

“Dr.Fauci is not in his office at this time. Please leave a recorded message or call the maitre d’ at Club 55 Cipriani Wall Street.”

Dining at Cipriani Wall Street (55 Wall St) typically features high-end Italian cuisine with main courses averaging around $40-$60 and appetizers in the high $20’s to $30’s. Dinner for one can exceed $100 per person, with popular items like Veal Chop “Milanese” ($52) and Carpaccio “alla Cipriani” ($28-40).

[roving]

Was there an orgy on the ship?

[proust]

Never believe something until its been official denied.

[catnipman]

“Hantavirus outbreak on cruise ship not start of pandemic, UN health agency says”

they have no F-ing idea ...

only time will tell with this one: IOW, it’s not the the start of a pandemic until it is ..

[CedarDave]

Now I’m worried.

Don't be unless you live in the US Southwest and get up close and personal with the mice in your garage.

[Political Junkie Too]

The virus is similar to COVID-19 in that it attacks the endothelial cells of the inner wall of the blood vessels. The main difference is that it doesn't bind with the ACE2 receptors - it binds with the αvβ3 (the vitronectin receptor) on endothelial cells — this is the dominant entry point driving vascular pathology. This, too, leads to oxidative stress.

The other difference is that while COVID-19 has a 3-5 day incubation period before symptoms occur, hantavirus has a 1-5 week gestation period.

This suggests to me (and AI concurs) that the same treatment for COVID-19 would work with hantavirus:

1. Quercetin + Zinc to inhibit RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp), the replication of the RNA in the infected cell. This slows down the spead of the virus during its dormant period.

2. Vitamin C increases the effectiveness of quercetin as a zinc ionophore.

3. Vitamin D3 treats the inflammation of the endothelial cells.

4. NAC produces glutathione and prevents oxidative stress.

If someone thinks they were exposed to the hantavirus, they should begin this regimen immediately. See this link for my COVID-19 regimen.

The caution is that once the hantavirus expresses itself, the impacts are much more severe and quicker than COVID-19.

-PJ

[CedarDave]

Hantavirus typically spreads from rodents - but in the latest outbreak the transmission between people was documented for the first time, the WHO said.

The Andes version, which is the virus from this outbreak, is the only version which has documented person-to-person spread, and that is from only close contact.

In 1993 the variant in the US southwest was identified and given the name Sin Nombre Virus (no name virus) after native American tribes objected to names that would associate the virus with them or their location (eg. Navajo virus, Four-Corners virus, etc.). The fatality rate for that first group identified as having the virus was 56 percent. However, there were isolated cases in earlier years where the virus likely caused serious illness or sickness where victims were identified as having a very bad case of the flu and further research was not pursued.

[CedarDave]

Here is the case study information from the NM Health Dept.:

Characteristics of 142 Case-PatientsNew Mexico, 1975 - 2024

• Age: Mean 40 yrs [range 5-85]; median 38 yrs
• Sex: 71 (50%) Male, 71 (50%) Female
• Race:+ 86 (62%) American Indian/PI/A
• 53 (34%) White
• 2 (<1%) Black
• Ethnicity: 24 (17%) Hispanic
• Case Fatality: 45%
• + 1 unknown race/ethnicity

Human Cases of Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome in New Mexico in 1975-2025 by County, Year, Month, & Demographics

[E. Pluribus Unum]

You probably know this, but Gene Hackman’s wife died of hantavirus, and I don’t think they got out much. I wonder if this is the same virus? I was thinking some kind of New Mexico mouse or something gave it to her.

[CedarDave]

So far in New Mexico in 2026 there has been one case reported from Santa Fe county. That person has recovered.
https://www.abqjournal.com/news/santa-fe-resident-hospitalized-in-first-2026-hantavirus-case/2999307

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[CedarDave]

Betsy Arakawa Hackman died of the Sin Nombre variant of the virus, which is the one in the US Southwest. Her home was free of mice but outbuildings such as several storage sheds and the garage had evidence of mice. There is a lengthy gestation period but once flu symptoms appear, you have only a very short time to get treatment before it develops into a life-threatening illness.

[CedarDave]

One more point, I was exposed last year and hospitalized for a short period of time. Testing determined I had prior antibodies but it did not develop beyond light flu symptoms. Whether an earlier exposure (years of hiking, backpacking and outdoor ground camping, garage cleaning, etc.) caused antibodies, I do not know but blood testing from the NM hospital was repeated in the Texas hospital with the same results - tier one results had antibodies, tier two results (additional chemical signs indicating a developing HPS condition) were negative.

I will also say that when I first went to the ER with flu symptoms and described recent possible exposure, they did not hesitate. They isolated me, then transported me to a major Texas hospital in Lubbock. My stay there was brief, as their chief virologist examined me and said I wasn’t developing HPS. Testing, which took two weeks for results, verified his diagnosis.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

Poor lady. She took good care of Gene until she couldn’t.