90-Second Read: Hantavirus Cruise Passengers Begin Flying Back To Home Countries (Latest Updates)

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). 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. 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.

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. A symptomatic passenger who returned to America after disembarking the MV Honduis, and is being cared for in Atlanta, tests negative for Hantavirus, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. Jeanne Marrazzo, CEO of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, says the United States is " not prepared " to handle a Hantavirus outbreak after Trump-era cuts to the CDC and USAID, as well as the country's withdrawal from the World Health Organization.

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. 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. A Spanish passenger who was evacuated from the MV Hondius tests positive for Hantavirus, according the Spanish Health Ministry, and is experiencing a "low-grade fever and mild respiratory symptoms," World Health Organization Director Dr.