90-Second Read: Hantavirus outbreak reduced to 10 cases as ship passengers return to home countries

The World Health Organization (WHO) today reduced the number of reported Hantavirus cases from the Dutch cruise ship MV Hondius from 11 to 10. WHO officials said at a press briefing this morning that the 11 cases reported in a disease outbreak update on May 13 included one inconclusive test in a passenger from the United States. Public health staff from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will meet passengers in Tenerife, Spain as they deboard a cruise ship that has been at the center of a Hantavirus outbreak. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, PhD, also said that more than 120 passengers who disembarked from the ship in Tenerife are being monitored by public health officials, either in their home countries or while in transit.

Others under monitoring include passengers who left the ship before the outbreak and those who may have been exposed on flights with a symptomatic passenger. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today confirmed 51 new measles cases in a nationwide outbreak that has now reached 1,893 infections. So far no cases have been identified in anyone other than passengers on the Dutch cruise ship. The agency reported two new outbreaks, for a total of 27.

Researchers studied 362 patients who saw a healthcare professional outside the hospital because of COVID-19 symptoms and who also tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Since 2024, three avian flu cases have been confirmed in people in the United States who own backyard birds, the authors noted. Last year the nation saw 48 outbreaks and 2,288 cases for the entire year. According to the CDC measles map, South Carolina has recorded the most cases so far this year, at 669, though its outbreak is now over.

Washington state officials have reported seven new cases, bringing the state's total to 44. Among the 8 suspected cases, only 3 have been confirmed by laboratory testing. Although 94% of owners were aware of avian flu, one third didn't know the signs or symptoms in birds or people.