Hantavirus cases in Sainte-Hélène

Country note

Probable case (per WHO DON-600 update): adult male resident who disembarked at Saint Helena on 14 April, symptom onset 28 April (diarrhoea, then fever 2 days later). UK medical airdrop 10 May: RAF Airbus A400M Atlas parachuted 8 military medical personnel onto the golf course plus 3.3 tonnes of supplies — first ever emergency airdrop onto Tristan da Cunha. 23 May 2026 (Tristan da Cunha government update): the suspected case is now well enough to recuperate at home; still classified as probable pending final laboratory confirmation. 8 June 2026: Saint Helena government declared the hantavirus incident concluded — no active, suspected, or confirmed cases on the island. The South Atlantic component of the outbreak is fully resolved.

Context

The 2026 outbreak is caused by Andes virus (ANDV), the only hantavirus with documented person-to-person transmission. The index event is a cluster aboard the Dutch-flagged cruise ship MV Hondius. Sainte-Hélène cases are either:

• Returning passengers or crew of the MV Hondius
• Household or close-contact cases of returning travellers
• Suspected pre-cruise exposures (rare, currently under investigation)

The country's national focal point reports cases up to WHO and ECDC; we update from those publications.

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