{"items":[{"id":"579d59f0-5f73-49dc-93d1-fa446d8ca45d","code":"mv-hondius-2026","name":"MV Hondius hantavirus cluster","serotype_code":"ANDV","started_at":"2026-04-06","ended_at":null,"status":"active","summary":"Andes virus (ANDV) cluster aboard the MV Hondius polar expedition cruise. The probable index case is a 70-year-old Dutch man who boarded in Ushuaia on 2026-04-01, developed fever, headache and diarrhea on 2026-04-06, and died on board 2026-04-11. His 69-year-old spouse disembarked at Saint Helena on 2026-04-24 and died in South Africa on 2026-04-26; PCR confirmed Andes hantavirus on her samples and is the laboratory confirmation that anchors the cluster. Pre-boarding exposure is suspected during bird-watching at a landfill site near Ushuaia (Tierra del Fuego), where the long-tailed pygmy rice rat (Oligoryzomys longicaudatus) — the natural ANDV reservoir — is present. Andes virus is the only orthohantavirus with documented person-to-person transmission, which explains onboard spread to crew and other passengers despite no rodents on the ship. Incubation 1 to 8 weeks; the cruise was already at sea before symptoms appeared. As of 2026-05-11 (WHO DON 600 / ECDC update): 9 total cases, 7 lab-confirmed, 2 probable, 3 deaths.\n\n[2026-05-13 update] WHO raised the cluster total to 9 confirmed + 2 probable + 3 deaths in the Tuesday 12 May 2026 update (per CNN reporting; primary WHO bulletin pending direct ingestion). 18 US passengers at quarantine facilities (16 Nebraska, 2 Emory Atlanta — Emory case tested NEGATIVE for the Andes strain). 122 of 147 evacuated from the Canary Islands; 27 sailing to Rotterdam for disinfection.","primary_location_country_iso2":"AR","primary_location_name":"Ushuaia (Tierra del Fuego, Argentina) — bird-watching at landfill site, pre-boarding exposure","primary_vessel_imo":"9817361","primary_vessel_name":"MV Hondius","primary_vessel_mmsi":"246879000","primary_vessel_flag":"NL","confirmed_cases":7,"suspected_cases":2,"deaths":3,"recovered":0,"authority_source_code":"who-don","authority_reported_at":"2026-05-11T12:00:00Z","corroborating_sources":3,"countries":[{"country_iso2":"NL","confirmed_count":1,"suspected_count":1,"deaths":2,"first_reported_at":"2026-04-06"},{"country_iso2":"FR","confirmed_count":1,"suspected_count":0,"deaths":0,"first_reported_at":"2026-05-11"},{"country_iso2":"US","confirmed_count":1,"suspected_count":0,"deaths":0,"first_reported_at":"2026-05-11"},{"country_iso2":"AR","confirmed_count":0,"suspected_count":0,"deaths":0,"first_reported_at":"2026-03-25"},{"country_iso2":"ES","confirmed_count":0,"suspected_count":0,"deaths":0,"first_reported_at":"2026-05-10"},{"country_iso2":"GB","confirmed_count":0,"suspected_count":0,"deaths":0,"first_reported_at":"2026-05-10"},{"country_iso2":"SH","confirmed_count":0,"suspected_count":0,"deaths":0,"first_reported_at":"2026-04-24"},{"country_iso2":"ZA","confirmed_count":0,"suspected_count":0,"deaths":1,"first_reported_at":"2026-04-26"}]}],"total":1}