W.H.O. Confirms 10 Hantavirus Cases Linked to MV Hondius Cruise
Transport of a person suspected of having Hantavirus in Italy, May 2026. X/ @LaSintesiItalia
May 12, 2026 Hour: 10:22 am
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Italy imposes strict monitoring measures as more possible cases are investigated.
On Tuesday, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director of the World Health Organization (WHO), said that 10 hantavirus cases associated with the MV Hondius cruise ship had been confirmed as of May 12.
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The U.S. citizen, whose first test result carried out in Cape Verde was inconclusive and who later tested negative, has again tested negative.
All suspected and confirmed cases have been isolated and are being managed under strict medical supervision to minimize the risk of any further transmission. Tedros said the global health risk “remains low” and that there is nothing to suggest there will be a larger outbreak.
“Given that we are dealing with a virus with a very long incubation period, it is possible that we may detect more cases in the coming weeks,” the WHO director acknowledged, stressing that the countries of origin of the cruise passengers are now responsible for implementing all control measures.
On Tuesday, the Lazzaro Spallanzani National Institute for Infectious Diseases in Rome will analyze biological samples from a young man from the Calabria region who was in quarantine for hantavirus after having brief contact with a Dutch woman infected with the virus.
The affected young man is one of four Italians under monitoring after having been on the KLM flight boarded by the Dutch woman, who later died from hantavirus after traveling on the MV Hondius cruise ship.
The transfer of the biological samples to Rome became necessary after the young Italian developed some symptoms, which have not yet been disclosed.
Italy’s Health Ministry has introduced a “maximum precaution” protocol following the hantavirus outbreak linked to the MV Hondius cruise ship, including 42-day quarantines and daily monitoring for high-risk contacts, although it insists that the danger to the general population is “very low.”
teleSUR/ JF
Source: EFE
