90-Second Read: French Hantavirus patient is critically ill as outbreak grows to 11

A French woman infected in the deadly Hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship is critically ill and being treated with an artificial lung. Michel Euler/AP hide caption PARIS, A French woman infected in the deadly Hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship is critically ill and being treated with an artificial lung, a doctor at the Paris hospital caring for the sickened passenger said Tuesday. Health authorities say it is the first Hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship. The outbreak has now reached 11 total reported cases, 9 of which have been confirmed. Carlos Lujan/AP/Europa Press hide caption The director of the World Health Organization said confirmed and suspected cases have only been reported among the cruise ship's passengers or crew.

A Dutch couple, identified by the WHO as the first cruise passengers infected with Hantavirus, spent several months in Argentina and neighboring South American countries before boarding the cruise ship. Map showing the locations of Hantavirus cases from the MV Hondius. But the Andes virus detected in the cruise ship outbreak may be able to spread between people in rare cases. Lescure called it "the final stage of supportive care." With the evacuation of all passengers and many crew members completed, the MV Hondius is now sailing back to the Netherlands, where it will be cleaned and disinfected. At the moment, there is no sign that we are seeing the start of a larger outbreak," said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO director general.

An ambulance enters the Bichat Hospital where a woman who tested positive for Hantavirus remains in intensive care, in Paris, Tuesday, May 12, 2026. The French passenger hospitalized in Paris has a severe form of the disease that has caused life-threatening lung and heart problems, said Dr. While there is no cure or vaccine for Hantavirus, the WHO says early detection and treatment improves survival rates. Hantavirus usually spreads from rodent droppings and is not easily transmitted between people. Three people on the cruise died, including a Dutch couple that health officials believe were the first exposed to the virus while visiting South America.

Argentina's health ministry said Tuesday a team of scientific experts will be dispatched in the coming days to investigate the origin of outbreak. Blood and urine from the patient should have been handled "according to a stricter procedure. Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus gives a press conference at the Moncloa Palace in Madrid, Tuesday, May 12, 2026. The health ministry said its team will investigate the landfill and other locations the couple visited where rats known to carry the virus are found, although local officials in the province where the cruise departed have challenged the theory it began there. He added that WHO cannot enforce its guidance, and that different countries may handle the monitoring of passengers without symptoms in different ways.