Health officials have confirmed that an American national and a French woman evacuated from a cruise ship affected by a hantavirus outbreak have tested positive, as international efforts to repatriate passengers and crew continue.
The cases were identified after passengers were removed from the Dutch-flagged cruise ship MV Hondius, which has been linked to a deadly outbreak of the Andes virus strain of hantavirus. The vessel is currently anchored near Tenerife in Spain’s Canary Islands.
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French Health Minister Stephanie Rist said one of five French passengers repatriated to Paris and placed in isolation began feeling unwell on Sunday night before testing positive.
🦠 🛳️ 🇪🇸 🇺🇸 🇫🇷 An American national and a French woman evacuated from the cruise ship hit by a deadly hantavirus outbreak have tested positive, officials said on Monday, as the complex operation to repatriate those on board continued ➡️ https://t.co/oN8taejrcJ pic.twitter.com/xJVYhuSOVx
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) May 11, 2026
US health authorities also confirmed that one American evacuee had mild symptoms, while another tested positive for the Andes virus, the only hantavirus strain known to spread between humans.
The outbreak has already claimed three lives, including a Dutch couple and a German woman. Several other passengers have also reported symptoms linked to the rare disease.
Hantavirus is typically transmitted through exposure to infected rodents, and no approved vaccine or specific treatment currently exists. The virus is endemic in parts of Argentina, where the ship departed in April.
Despite the confirmed cases, health authorities have said the overall risk to global public health remains low and have dismissed comparisons to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Officials in multiple countries are tracing contacts of passengers who disembarked earlier or may have interacted with infected travellers.
Spain has overseen the evacuation of 94 people from 19 nationalities, while repatriation flights to several countries continued on Monday.
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The World Health Organisation has recommended a 42-day quarantine period with active health monitoring, including daily symptom checks.
Countries including Greece, Australia, Britain and Spain have announced quarantine or isolation measures for returning passengers.
The WHO believes the first infection likely occurred before the voyage began, followed by human-to-human transmission aboard the vessel. Investigations into the source and spread of the outbreak remain ongoing.