90-Second Read: Hantavirus Cruise Ship: NIH Director Says Outbreak ‘Is Not COVID’ (Live Updates)

Most people will never be exposed to this." The World Health Organization confirms the number of lab-proven Hantavirus cases has risen to five and there are still at least three additional suspected cases among cruise ship passengers and crew. 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. Health officials confirm the deadly Hantavirus outbreak is of a particular disease strain called Andes, one of the deadliest variants of the Hantavirus and the only known strain that transmits from person to person. Jeanne Marrazzo, CEO of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, says the United States is ".

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. 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. Two residents of Singapore who were onboard the cruise ship during the outbreak and were on the same flight.

CNN cites unnamed health officials in reporting the estimated 17 Americans onboard the cruise ship will be escorted on a charter flight and taken to the National Quarantine Unit, a federally funded quarantine facility in Omaha. Thursday, May 7, 2026 President Donald Trump tells reporters the Hantavirus outbreak is "very much" under control and "it should be fine," adding, when asked if Americans should be worried, "I hope not... 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. May 6, 2026 The CDC reportedly tells employees Luis Rodríguez, the American official responsible for public health on cruise ships, is retiring. Doctors speak up.

She was confirmed to have had a variant of the Hantavirus. Andes is the only Hantavirus strain known to be transmitted person to person. 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. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says symptoms of Hantavirus usually emerge within a week or two, but can take up to eight weeks in some cases. Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome causes fatigue, fever, muscle aches, abdominal problems, headaches, chills and dizziness in the early stages, and late symptoms include chest tightness, coughing, shortness of breath and lungs filling with fluid.