Hantavirusseuranta 2026 — MV Hondiuksen tapauslaskuri reaaliajassa | HantaCount

Q: How does hantavirus spread?

Hantavirus spreads mainly through inhaling dust contaminated with rodent urine, droppings or saliva. The Andes strain (ANDV) — the one circulating in the 2026 MV Hondius outbreak — is the only hantavirus with documented person-to-person transmission, but this remains rare and has been observed mostly in close household or hospital contact.

Q: What are the symptoms of Andes hantavirus?

Early symptoms (1–8 weeks after exposure) are fever, muscle aches, fatigue, headache, nausea and abdominal pain. After 4–10 days, infected people may develop shortness of breath, cough and pulmonary edema (Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome, HPS) or kidney injury (HFRS). Onset can be rapid — hours from cough to severe respiratory distress.

Q: What is the case fatality rate of Andes hantavirus?

Andes virus (ANDV) historically has a case fatality rate of 30–40%. In the current 2026 MV Hondius cluster, the running CFR is approximately 19% across 16 confirmed cases. Outcome depends heavily on how quickly intensive supportive care — particularly ECMO — is available.

Q: Is there a vaccine or cure for hantavirus?

No vaccine and no specific antiviral drug are approved for hantavirus. Treatment is supportive: oxygen, mechanical ventilation, fluid management and ECMO when available. Ribavirin has been studied for HFRS strains but is not standard of care for ANDV. Early hospitalisation in an ICU significantly improves survival.

Q: How long is the incubation period for Andes hantavirus?

Incubation typically ranges from 2 to 4 weeks but can extend up to 6 weeks. Public health authorities monitor exposed contacts for 42 days from last exposure to capture the long tail of late-onset cases.

Q: Can hantavirus spread person-to-person?

Among all hantaviruses, only the Andes strain (ANDV) has documented person-to-person transmission, mostly in household and healthcare settings during prolonged close contact. The 2026 MV Hondius cluster is being closely watched for this reason: a confined cruise ship environment is exactly the setting where ANDV chains have historically appeared.

Q: What is the MV Hondius hantavirus outbreak?

The MV Hondius is a Dutch-flagged expedition cruise ship that departed Argentina on 1 April 2026. Passengers began reporting flu-like symptoms in late April; PCR confirmed Andes hantavirus on 4 May 2026 (WHO DON-599). As of 2026-05-12 there are 16 confirmed cases, 3 deaths, and contact tracing across 14 countries.

Q: Should travelers be worried about hantavirus?

ECDC and CDC currently assess the risk to the general traveling public as very low. The cluster is geographically constrained (one cruise ship and its disembarked passengers) and ANDV does not spread efficiently outside very close contact. Travelers to South America should continue normal precautions: avoid rodent-infested cabins, ventilate before cleaning, and disclose symptoms with relevant travel history.

Q: How can I protect myself from hantavirus?

Avoid direct contact with rodents and their droppings. Before cleaning rodent-infested spaces, ventilate for at least 30 minutes. Wear an N95 respirator and disposable gloves. Spray droppings with a bleach solution before wiping; never sweep or vacuum dry, which aerosolises the virus.

Q: When should I see a doctor after possible exposure?

Anyone who develops fever, muscle aches or shortness of breath within 6 weeks of possible rodent exposure or close contact with an Andes virus case should seek medical care immediately and disclose the exposure. Early ICU admission is the single biggest determinant of survival in hantavirus pulmonary syndrome.

HantaCount Editorial

Tapauksia yhteensä

16

+2vs.

Kuolemat

3

0vs.

Maat

14

0vs.

Tapauskuolleisuus

19%

-2vs.

Jäljitettyjä kontakteja

156

0vs.

Kriittinen

1

0vs.

Epidemian aikajana

28

12.5.
US update: 16 Americans at Nebraska Biocontainment Unit (1 confirmed, 15 monitoring); 2 at Emory University Hospital Atlanta — 1 symptomatic with PCR result pending. Tristan da Cunha community PCR screening results from GeneXpert rig still pending.
12.5.
ECDC updates official count to 11 (9 lab-confirmed + 2 probable), 3 deaths. MV Hondius departs Tenerife for Rotterdam for crew offload and ship-wide hantavirus decontamination (4–6 weeks). WHO Director-General: 'There is no sign that we're seeing the start of a larger outbreak.'
9.5.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, briefing reporters in Tenerife, said: "This is not another COVID. The risk to the public is low." Tedros reiterated that human-to-human Andes virus transmission is limited to close-contact settings and that the multi-country evacuation should not change the overall WHO public-risk assessment, which remains very low.
9.5.
CDC activates Level 3 emergency response for the MV Hondius outbreak — the agency's mid-tier activation that mobilises an Emergency Operations Center team and deploys epidemiologists and medical staff to the affected region. The CDC team is conducting per-passenger exposure risk assessments for the 18 repatriated US nationals and is coordinating with HHS on the Nebraska Biocontainment Unit transfer.
12.5.
France confirms second case: a French woman evacuated from MV Hondius tests PCR-positive — the second of 5 repatriated French nationals to test positive. France total: 2 cases. HantaCount headline updates to 16 cases, CFR 19%.
12.5.
Spain confirms second case: a Spanish male passenger in Madrid hospital tested PCR-positive on arrival screening; asymptomatic and in good health. This is distinct from the May 8 Alicante case (South African woman). Spain total: 2 cases.
11.5.
Radboud UMC (Nijmegen, Netherlands): 12 hospital staff placed in 6-week preventive quarantine after protocol breaches in handling an MV Hondius patient. Blood samples were processed under standard rather than ANDV-strict protocol; urine disposal did not follow latest international guidelines. Hospital states the probability of actual infection is very small.
11.5.
First US case confirmed: HHS announced one of the 18 repatriated American passengers tested PCR-positive for Andes hantavirus on the trans-Atlantic flight (asymptomatic at testing). Patient transported in a biocontainment unit to the Nebraska Biocontainment Unit at University of Nebraska Medical Center for follow-up. A second American with mild symptoms is being routed to a separate ASPR RESPTC. HantaCount headline updates to 14 cases (13 + 1 US PCR-positive), CFR 21%.
10.5.
Methodology lock-in: HantaCount headline aligned to the sum of national health agency reports (NL 2 + ZA 1 + GB 3 + CH 1 + ES 1 + DE 1 + FR 1 + TR 1 + CV 1 + SH 1 = 13 cases, 3 deaths, CFR 23%). Each country count now carries an explicit source. WHO DON-600 baseline (8 cases, 6 lab-confirmed + 2 probable, CFR 38%) shown separately for direct comparison.
11.5.
Updated disembarkation count: 94 of the 147 onboard passengers disembarked on the first day (10 May), representing 19 different nationalities. Beyond the 13 countries with cases, additional passenger nationalities include Australia, Belgium, Greece, Guatemala, India, Japan, Montenegro, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Russia and Ukraine — these countries are conducting precautionary contact monitoring even though no cases have been confirmed among their nationals.
11.5.
WHO coordinates shipment of 2,500 Andes virus diagnostic kits from Instituto Malbrán (Argentina) to reference laboratories in Spain, France, Netherlands, United Kingdom and South Africa. Tristan da Cunha team installs Cepheid GeneXpert PCR rig at Camogli Hospital — first community screening results expected within 48 hours.
11.5.
Tenerife disembarkation operation completes. UK Health Security Agency confirms a third British national positive for Andes virus on the repatriation flight. One French passenger develops symptoms in-flight to Paris and is isolated on arrival at Bichat. WHO updated Tristan da Cunha case timeline: probable case is an adult male resident who disembarked at Saint Helena on 14 April, symptom onset 28 April (diarrhoea, then fever); currently stable in isolation. One previously suspected case has been reclassified as non-case after PCR and serology negative.
10.5.
WHO confirms 46 passengers disembarked at Tenerife in the first wave; first Spanish charter (14 passengers) reached Madrid. France evacuates 5 nationals to Paris under 72-hour hospital observation + 45-day home quarantine protocol. UK military paratroopers airdrop medical clinicians and equipment to Tristan da Cunha. After full disembarkation MV Hondius will continue to Rotterdam for crew offload and ship-wide disinfection.
10.5.
Spanish health authorities confirm disembarkation order: Spanish nationals first, flown to Madrid Gomez-Ulla military hospital for quarantine; followed by Netherlands, Canada, Türkiye, France, United Kingdom, Ireland and United States. Spain's health minister states remaining passengers are asymptomatic.
10.5.
Passenger disembarkation begins at Tenerife under strict medical supervision. UK Health Security Agency confirms second British case.
9.5.
Espanjan terveysviranomaiset vahvistavat purkujärjestyksen: ensin espanjalaiset, jotka lennätetään karanteeniin Madridin Gómez Ullan sotilassairaalaan; seuraavina Alankomaat, Kanada, Türkiye, Ranska, Yhdistynyt kuningaskunta, Irlanti ja Yhdysvallat. Espanjan terveysministeri toteaa jäljellä olevien matkustajien olevan oireettomia.
9.5.
Matkustajien purku alkaa Teneriffalla lääketieteellisessä valvonnassa; UK Health Security Agency vahvistaa toisen brittiläisen tapauksen.
9.5.
Tristan da Cunhan hallitus ilmoittaa epäillystä hantavirustapauksesta asukkaalla, joka poistui aluksesta 24. huhtikuuta. Hondiuksesta lentäen lähtenyt miehistön jäsen testattu negatiiviseksi.
8.5.
WHO julkaisee DON-600:n: 8 tapausta (6 vahvistettua, 2 todennäköistä), 3 kuolemaa, tapauskuolleisuus 38 %. Alus telakoituna Teneriffalle; matkustajien purku suunniteltu 10. toukokuuta. 17 amerikkalaista palautetaan Offutt AFB:lle; ei pakollista karanteenia.
7.5.
MV Hondius saapuu Teneriffalle (Granadilla de Abonan satama); WHO:n pääjohtaja matkustaa Kanariansaarille koordinoimaan 147 aluksella olevan henkilön purkua. Ranska ja Singapore lisätty kontaktien jäljitysverkostoon; 7 Yhdysvaltain osavaltiota seuraa matkustajia.
6.5.
CDC ilmoittaa kotiuttamislennosta; Espanja vahvistaa tapauksen Alicantessa; Yhdysvallat seuraa 5 osavaltiossa.
4.5.
Sveitsi vahvistaa ensimmäisen eurooppalaisen tapauksen; 40 matkustajaa evakuoitu.
2.5.
Argentiina käynnistää tutkimuksen risteilyä edeltäneen altistumisen lähteestä.
24.4.
WHO julkaisee tautiepidemiailmoituksen (DON-599) — Andes-virus vahvistettu.
11.4.
Kaksi kuolemaa aluksella; PCR-näytteet lähetetty Lissaboniin.
28.4.
Ensimmäiset matkustajat raportoivat flunssan kaltaisia oireita.
24.4.
Useita kymmeniä matkustajia poistuu aluksesta Saint Helenassa; tunnistetaan myöhemmin kontaktien jäljitystä varten.
1.4.
MV Hondius lähtee Argentiinasta yli 240 matkustajan kanssa.

Epidemia yhdellä silmäyksellä

Virus: Andes-hantavirus (ANDV)
Lähde: MV Hondius -tutkimusristeily
WHO-riski: Hyvin matala (yleinen väestö)
Itämisaika: 9–33 päivää
Tartuntatapa: Jyrsijäkontakti; harvoin ihmisestä ihmiseen
Hoito: Tukihoito (ei viruslääkettä)
Rokote: Ei hyväksyttyä
Aluksen tila: Teneriffa — purku käynnissä
Tapauskuolleisuus (tämä epidemia): ~19%

Koskettavat maat

14

Hantavirusepidemia — suora seuranta

Koskettavat maat

WHO virallinen perustaso

Live count

MV Hondius -hantavirusepidemia — yleiskatsaus

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