{"id":3989,"date":"2026-05-11T08:50:27","date_gmt":"2026-05-11T08:50:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/?p=3989"},"modified":"2026-05-11T08:50:28","modified_gmt":"2026-05-11T08:50:28","slug":"us-and-french-nationals-on-hantavirus-affected-ship-test-positive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/?p=3989","title":{"rendered":"US and French Nationals on Hantavirus-Affected Ship Test Positive"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

CANARY ISLANDS: An American national and a French woman who were evacuated from the cruise ship affected by a deadly hantavirus outbreak have tested positive, officials confirmed on Monday, while efforts to repatriate all passengers continued.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The French woman\u2014one of five French passengers flown back from the MV Hondius and placed in isolation in Paris\u2014began feeling unwell on Sunday night, and Health Minister Stephanie Rist said that \u201ctests came back positive.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Separately, the US health department reported that one American evacuee from the ship had developed \u201cmild symptoms,\u201d while another tested positive for the Andes virus, the only hantavirus strain known to be transmissible between humans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So far, three passengers from the vessel\u2014a Dutch couple and a German woman\u2014have died, while others have fallen ill with the rare disease, which is typically spread by rodents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is no vaccine or specific treatment for hantavirus, which is endemic in Argentina, where the ship originally set sail in April, although health officials have stressed that the global public health risk remains low and have rejected comparisons with the Covid-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

French Health Minister Rist said that 22 additional contact cases had been identified among French nationals, including eight individuals who had travelled on an April 25 flight between Saint Helena and Johannesburg, and 14 others on a flight between Johannesburg and Amsterdam.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Authorities also confirmed that the Dutch woman who died had been on the Johannesburg flight and briefly boarded a subsequent flight to Amsterdam before being removed prior to departure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Health agencies across multiple countries are tracking passengers who disembarked earlier from the ship, along with anyone who may have been exposed to them during travel or transit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The repatriation effort saw 94 passengers of 19 different nationalities evacuated on Sunday, Spanish Health Minister Monica Garcia announced in Tenerife, located in Spain\u2019s Canary Islands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spanish officials added that the evacuation of nearly all of the ship\u2019s approximately 150 passengers and crew\u2014representing 23 nationalities\u2014would continue, with final repatriation flights scheduled to Australia and the Netherlands on Monday afternoon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Dutch-flagged vessel is expected to refuel in the morning and then depart for the Netherlands at around 7pm (11pm PKT) on Monday with about 30 crew members remaining on board.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Passengers wearing blue medical suits were seen disembarking the ship on Sunday and being transported to the industrial port of Granadilla on Tenerife, according to AFP journalists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The evacuation has been described as a race against time, with Canary Islands authorities warning that the entire operation must be completed by Monday due to worsening weather conditions that will force the ship to leave.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The regional government of the Canary Islands has also been reluctant to allow the ship to dock, permitting it only to anchor offshore during the crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends a 42-day quarantine and \u201cactive follow-up,\u201d including daily monitoring for symptoms such as fever, according to Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO\u2019s director for epidemic and pandemic preparedness and prevention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Greece\u2019s health ministry said one Greek evacuee would undergo a 45-day mandatory hospital quarantine in Athens, while 14 Spanish citizens will isolate at a military hospital in Madrid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Australia announced that its six evacuees would be placed in a purpose-built quarantine facility north of Perth for at least three weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

British authorities said 20 UK nationals from the ship would be taken to a hospital near Liverpool for testing and approximately 72 hours of quarantine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, a senior US health official said that the 17 American passengers would not necessarily be required to quarantine, depending on risk assessment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jay Bhattacharya, acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said that passengers assessed as lower risk could return home \u201cwithout exposing other people on the way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who was present in Tenerife overseeing the evacuations, warned that such an approach \u201cmay have risks.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The evacuee group was expected to arrive in Omaha early on Monday morning, according to a spokesperson for the University of Nebraska Medical Centre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The MV Hondius departed Ushuaia, Argentina on April 1 for a cruise across the Atlantic Ocean toward Cape Verde.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The World Health Organization believes the first infection likely occurred before the start of the expedition, followed by subsequent human-to-human transmission aboard the vessel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, Argentine health officials have raised questions about whether the outbreak truly originated in Ushuaia, citing the virus\u2019s incubation period and other epidemiological factors.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

CANARY ISLANDS: An American national and a French woman who were evacuated from the cruise ship affected by a deadly hantavirus outbreak have tested positive, officials confirmed on Monday, while… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3990,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[2137,2123,2138],"class_list":["post-3989","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world","tag-canary-islands","tag-hantavirus","tag-world-health-organization"],"yoast_head":"\nUS and French Nationals on Hantavirus-Affected Ship Test Positive - World Watch Alert<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"American and French evacuees from the MV Hondius cruise ship have tested positive for hantavirus as repatriation efforts continue following a deadly outbreak that killed three passengers and infected others.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/?p=3989\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"US and French Nationals on Hantavirus-Affected Ship Test Positive - World Watch Alert\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"American and French evacuees from the MV Hondius cruise ship have tested positive for hantavirus as repatriation efforts continue following a deadly outbreak that killed three passengers and infected others.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/?p=3989\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"World Watch Alert\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-11T08:50:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-05-11T08:50:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/111336077583292.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"480\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worldwatchalert.com\\\/?p=3989#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worldwatchalert.com\\\/?p=3989\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worldwatchalert.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a1cf922194712e47776dbb1e51115040\"},\"headline\":\"US and French Nationals on Hantavirus-Affected Ship Test Positive\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-11T08:50:27+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-05-11T08:50:28+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worldwatchalert.com\\\/?p=3989\"},\"wordCount\":737,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worldwatchalert.com\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worldwatchalert.com\\\/?p=3989#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worldwatchalert.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/111336077583292.webp\",\"keywords\":[\"Canary islands\",\"Hantavirus\",\"World health organization\"],\"articleSection\":[\"World\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worldwatchalert.com\\\/?p=3989\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worldwatchalert.com\\\/?p=3989\",\"name\":\"US and French Nationals on Hantavirus-Affected Ship Test Positive - World Watch Alert\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worldwatchalert.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worldwatchalert.com\\\/?p=3989#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worldwatchalert.com\\\/?p=3989#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worldwatchalert.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/111336077583292.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-11T08:50:27+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-05-11T08:50:28+00:00\",\"description\":\"American and French evacuees from the MV Hondius cruise ship have tested positive for hantavirus as repatriation efforts continue following a deadly outbreak that killed three passengers and infected others.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worldwatchalert.com\\\/?p=3989#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worldwatchalert.com\\\/?p=3989\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worldwatchalert.com\\\/?p=3989#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worldwatchalert.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/111336077583292.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worldwatchalert.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/111336077583292.webp\",\"width\":800,\"height\":480},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worldwatchalert.com\\\/?p=3989#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worldwatchalert.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"US and French Nationals on Hantavirus-Affected Ship Test Positive\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worldwatchalert.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worldwatchalert.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"World Watch Alert\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worldwatchalert.com\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worldwatchalert.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worldwatchalert.com\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"World Watch Alert\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worldwatchalert.com\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worldwatchalert.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worldwatchalert.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/Chief-Editor-Asif-Ali-Bhatti.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worldwatchalert.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/Chief-Editor-Asif-Ali-Bhatti.png\",\"width\":1080,\"height\":350,\"caption\":\"World Watch Alert\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worldwatchalert.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worldwatchalert.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a1cf922194712e47776dbb1e51115040\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/4c81c452db555bfe1e0e5ed315dd6b278f007d8ede7a2a3faadee052f7c23d40?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/4c81c452db555bfe1e0e5ed315dd6b278f007d8ede7a2a3faadee052f7c23d40?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/4c81c452db555bfe1e0e5ed315dd6b278f007d8ede7a2a3faadee052f7c23d40?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worldwatchalert.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worldwatchalert.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"US and French Nationals on Hantavirus-Affected Ship Test Positive - World Watch Alert","description":"American and French evacuees from the MV Hondius cruise ship have tested positive for hantavirus as repatriation efforts continue following a deadly outbreak that killed three passengers and infected others.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/?p=3989","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"US and French Nationals on Hantavirus-Affected Ship Test Positive - World Watch Alert","og_description":"American and French evacuees from the MV Hondius cruise ship have tested positive for hantavirus as repatriation efforts continue following a deadly outbreak that killed three passengers and infected others.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/?p=3989","og_site_name":"World Watch Alert","article_published_time":"2026-05-11T08:50:27+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-05-11T08:50:28+00:00","og_image":[{"width":800,"height":480,"url":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/111336077583292.webp","type":"image\/webp"}],"author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/?p=3989#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/?p=3989"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/#\/schema\/person\/a1cf922194712e47776dbb1e51115040"},"headline":"US and French Nationals on Hantavirus-Affected Ship Test Positive","datePublished":"2026-05-11T08:50:27+00:00","dateModified":"2026-05-11T08:50:28+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/?p=3989"},"wordCount":737,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/?p=3989#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/111336077583292.webp","keywords":["Canary islands","Hantavirus","World health organization"],"articleSection":["World"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/?p=3989","url":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/?p=3989","name":"US and French Nationals on Hantavirus-Affected Ship Test Positive - World Watch Alert","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/?p=3989#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/?p=3989#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/111336077583292.webp","datePublished":"2026-05-11T08:50:27+00:00","dateModified":"2026-05-11T08:50:28+00:00","description":"American and French evacuees from the MV Hondius cruise ship have tested positive for hantavirus as repatriation efforts continue following a deadly outbreak that killed three passengers and infected others.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/?p=3989#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/?p=3989"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/?p=3989#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/111336077583292.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/111336077583292.webp","width":800,"height":480},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/?p=3989#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"US and French Nationals on Hantavirus-Affected Ship Test Positive"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/","name":"World Watch Alert","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/#organization","name":"World Watch Alert","url":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Chief-Editor-Asif-Ali-Bhatti.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Chief-Editor-Asif-Ali-Bhatti.png","width":1080,"height":350,"caption":"World Watch Alert"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/#\/schema\/person\/a1cf922194712e47776dbb1e51115040","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4c81c452db555bfe1e0e5ed315dd6b278f007d8ede7a2a3faadee052f7c23d40?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4c81c452db555bfe1e0e5ed315dd6b278f007d8ede7a2a3faadee052f7c23d40?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4c81c452db555bfe1e0e5ed315dd6b278f007d8ede7a2a3faadee052f7c23d40?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com"],"url":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3989","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3989"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3989\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3991,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3989\/revisions\/3991"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3990"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3989"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3989"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3989"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}