What was the MV Hondius hantavirus outbreak?

The MV Hondius left Ushuaia on April 1, 2026 with 147 people aboard — 88 passengers and 59 crew from 23 nationalities — on an Antarctic and South Atlantic expedition. An elderly Dutch passenger developed symptoms on April 6 and died at sea on April 11; his widow was evacuated to Johannesburg and died there on April 26. A third passenger died on May 2. Andes virus was confirmed by PCR and sequencing on May 4. The ship docked in Tenerife on May 10 under Spanish Ministry of Health supervision, and passengers were repatriated to home countries for medical monitoring. By May 12, France and the United States had each confirmed additional positive cases on repatriated passengers, bringing confirmed and probable cases to 11 with 3 deaths. WHO assessed the risk of broader epidemic spread as low.