90-Second Read: Experimental Hantavirus Treatment Could Be Used On Sick Cruise Ship Passengers (Latest Updates)

An experimental antiviral scientists hope will be effective in treating patients who were sickened by a Hantavirus outbreak aboard a cruise ship has been sent to France, Spain and the Netherlands, where a handful of patients are being treated, the European Commission said Thursday. Ghebreyesus says none of the remaining passengers or crew aboard the MV Hondius are symptomatic, but that "it is possible more cases will be reported" because it can be up to six weeks before those infected with the Andes variant of Hantavirus show symptoms. Argentine officials suggested the Hantavirus outbreak could have originated from a bird-watching outing that took the deceased Dutch couple to a landfill, where they may have been exposed to rodents carrying the virus before boarding the ship, the Associated Press reported. Several patients are being treated for a deadly and rare strain of Hantavirus after they were sickened on a cruise ship.

Oceanwide Expeditions, operator of the cruise ship MV Hondius, says at least 29 living passengers from 12 countries disembarked the ship and went home after the death of the first passenger on board (before officials knew of the outbreak). The South African Department of Health says tests performed on infected passengers of the the MV Hondius confirm the Andes virus, one of the deadliest Hantavirus diseases with a roughly 40% case fatality rate, is what infected passengers onboard the ship. May 4, 2026 The World Health Organization ⁠confirms a strain of Hantavirus is spreading aboard the ship, with two lab-confirmed cases and five more suspected cases. Spanish officials confirm that after testing positive once for Hantavirus, the American now known to be Kornfield has since tested negative twice for the disease, meaning no Americans are among the nine confirmed cases of the illness.

Twelve staff members at a Dutch hospital are quarantined after blood and urine samples collected from a Hantavirus patient were mishandled, according to Reuters, and they'll stay isolated for six weeks despite a very low risk of infection. France's Health Minister Stéphanie Rist says a woman, among five French nationals evacuated from the vessel, has tested positive for the Hantavirus and all five people will be put under isolation in Paris. He insisted the public health risk remains "low." A Dutch flight attendant who has developed mild symptoms is being tested for the disease after she briefly came into contact with one of the deceased Hantavirus patients. There is no specific treatment for Hantavirus infections and patients usually receive supportive care like supplemental oxygen for respiratory issues and dialysis in the case of kidney failure.

Doctors speak up to dispute a viral online claim that ivermectin, an FDA-approved parasitic most commonly used as a dewormer for livestock, could be used to treat Hantavirus. An international team of scientists is working to create a vaccine against Hantavirus, the BBC reported. People typically get Hantavirus from contact with rodents like rats and mice, normally when exposed to their urine, droppings and saliva, or sometimes through a bite or scratch, but officials say no rodents have been found on the MV Hondius ship.