On a cruise on the ship “Hondius” owned by the Dutch shipping company Oceanwide Expeditions that began in Argentina, several people contracted the hantavirus.Image: keystone
June 29, 2026, 3:22 amJune 29, 2026, 3:22 am
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the hantavirus outbreak is coming to an end. This is what WHO boss Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus wrote on Platform X. The situation remains stable. All contacts of the two cases identified in South Africa have completed their follow-up period without any further cases being reported. The quarantine and follow-up periods have also been completed in Spain and the Netherlands.
It was said that 30 contact persons were still being monitored. The total number of cases remains at 13, including three deaths.
On a cruise on the ship “Hondius” owned by the Dutch shipping company Oceanwide Expeditions that began in Argentina, several people were infected with the hantavirus – specifically the South American Andes type of virus. The Andes virus is considered the only hantavirus that can occasionally be transmitted from person to person. Hantaviruses are usually transmitted by rodents, for example through fecal particles in blown up dust.
Around 150 people from 23 countries were on the “Hondius”. Because of the outbreak, the ship docked on the island of Tenerife in May, from where the people on board traveled to their home countries under special security precautions. Weeks ago, the WHO assessed the risk for the general population as low and confirmed that there was no risk of a major wave of infection or a pandemic. (sda/dpa)